


The Next Type of Motion

by dansunedisco



Category: Naruto
Genre: Action/Adventure, Coming of Age, Falling In Love, Gen, M/M, Male Friendship, Pre-Series
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-02-12
Updated: 2013-03-24
Packaged: 2017-11-29 02:42:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 16
Words: 78,201
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/681808
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dansunedisco/pseuds/dansunedisco
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>At 16, Tenzou is accepted into ANBU. And, by fate, he falls under the jurisdiction of a very strange Squad Captain. Hilarity ensues.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Destiny Set in Motion

**Author's Note:**

> Pre-series. Yamato-centric.

Tenzou really, really had to pee.

The fact was slightly embarrassing, if only because he was presently waiting outside the Sandaime Hokage's office for an eleven o'clock appointment.

The cute lobby assistant kept looking at him from under her half-moon glasses. Tenzou wasn't sure if she liked what she saw or if she was worried as to why he kept trying to discreetly re-adjust himself. Key word: discreetly. And, since her eyes kept dropping to the seam of his pants, he had a feeling being a Chuunin didn't automatically award magical penis-adjusting powers.

The urge to be on time overcame his urge to use the bathroom, however, though Tenzou had to admit it was a close tie. His pride (and the stare from the cute assistant) kept him glued to the floor.

He tried not to bounce on the balls of his feet, praying that the Hokage would finish with the meeting that preceded his soon. The sooner Tenzou heard the verdict—his stomach twisted nervously whenever he thought of it—the sooner he would be able to go about his business.

"You can come in now," the muffled voice of the Sandaime drifted through the massive oak doors of his office.

Tenzou looked questioningly at the assistant. She shooed him on with a manicured hand.

Tenzou opened the doors and stepped inside the large office. The door clicked closed behind him. Tenzou felt an ominous chill run through him then and he gulped.

The Sandaime sat behind a large desk. A clerical chuunin was filing papers off to his left. Tenzou recognized the other ninja as Reiko—he had been promoted in rank the same cycle as Tenzou. Reiko acknowledged Tenzou with a curt nod, but was otherwise focused on his duties.

Folders, books and loose-leafed papers covered almost every inch of the Sandaime's desk. Tenzou thought the Hokage would have had a neater workspace.

It was several minutes before the Sandaime cocked his hand to wave Tenzou closer, his eyes still searching the papers in front of him.

Tenzou walked until he stood an arm's length away from the desk. He squared his shoulders in an attempt to look as professional as possible.

He had completed the rigorous ANBU application process the day before. He had secretly worked on his package for months, compiling references, evaluations and data sheets. There was no written instruction (that Tenzou had found, in any case) on exactly what ANBU looked for in their selectees, so he had thrown everything he had thought remotely impressive into it.

Tenzou had received a notice to present himself in front of an evaluation board a week after he'd turned said package in. The board had comprised of a psychologist, an interrogator and three other men who had remained masked and, strangely enough, asked absolutely no questions throughout the ordeal.

Tenzou had found it odd that _he_  had been the one being tested for mental defects. The psychologist had held up inkblots that looked an awful lot like men on skewers, spewing out fountains of blood from their innards. And that interrogator—Ibiki?—something must have been screwed very loose in his head.

Two weeks after the evaluation board, another notice had made its way to his kitchen table. How it had gotten there, Tenzou was none the wiser.

The notice oredered Tenzou's to present himself in the Black Forest that evening, which had left him no time to prepare for what he knew was sure to be a test of every skill he had learned.

True to form, he had been thrown in to the forest without as much as a "good luck". He had escaped a week later, a few pounds lighter and with a prejudice against jumping tree leeches. A masked ANBU member had met him outside the gates where he had found freedom and had handed him another notice. It had been a standard appointment slip.

The Sandaime coughed behind his fist.

The gravelly sound snapped Tenzou out of his daydream, reminding him once again of the increasing pressure in his abdomen. He clasped his hands behind his back and chewed on the inside of his cheek.

"I apologize for having you wait outside for so long."

Tenzou bowed his head. "It was no trouble at all, Sir."

His bladder had to argue that  _that_  was a big lie.

"Before I give you the results I am sure you are dying to hear... the director at HQ gave me your application after I had already gotten my hands on a copy. He told me it was the most thorough application he had seen in all this years at that post. A very decent compliment," the Sandaime said. "You were promoted two years ago to Chuunin… the same year as my Reiko over here. I am surprised your sensei never put you up for Jounin. I personally think you have done a spectacular job in the exams. I suppose, what I mean to say, is that have heard only exceptional reviews on your performance."

Tenzou could have kissed whoever said those beautiful, wonderful things.

"Thank you, Sir," he said, trying to keep the elation in his voice toned down.

"Of course," the Hokage said, sounding more troubled now. "I can't lie to you, Tenzou… your application was almost turned down."

A tight knot formed in Tenzou's stomach.

Had he dodged giant jumping tree leeches for nothing then?

The Sandaime continued after a pause that Tenzou highly suspected was for dramatic effect only. "However, as the Hokage, I do have some measurable pull. I trust in your unwavering loyalty."

Tenzou perked up. A thread of hope returned to him.

Sandaime smiled. "After some more… consideration… the counsel has accepted your application. You will become a member of ANBU under a probationary period that will last until your captain has given you fit for full duty status. You have already been assigned to a squad. Once my signature is on this paper-" he held an official-looking parchment up "-you can only be released or accepted by recommendation of your direct superior. Are you sure you are ready?"

"Yes, sir."

Glorious relief washed over Tenzou.

"Thank goodness. I almost thought I'd have to go through all the legal details with you. No one likes legal documents-just like no one likes lawyers, ha ha! Besides-I detest those cookie-cutter dialogue scripts I'm required to do. I might have to lecture whoever came up with it…" The Sandaime pressed a seal to several more official-looking documents.

Tenzou didn't bother telling the Sandaime that it was the Sandaime himself who signed the paperwork for said standard dialogue.

"As I said, you have been assigned to a squad. You may be familiar with the reputation of the men and women you will soon work with. My advise to you is to remember one thing: you all sharpen your kunai the same way. You will meet up with them tomorrow for a mission briefing. My assistant should have it booked."

"Roger." Only one question weighed on his mind still. "Hokage-sama… this probationary period. Is there a test to pass?"

Sandaime smiled, his eyes twinkling with amusement. "I'm afraid I cannot say—even I'm not privy to all things ANBU. I never applied to that particular branch."

Tenzou nodded his head. He hadn't expected the Sandaime to give him all the answers. A small cloud was already starting to form over his otherwise sunny disposition.

He didn't like the sound of this probationary period very much. ANBU were known to be the most insane and deranged ninja Konoha could produce. It was practically a requirement to have gone through some seriously debilitating childhood trauma.

Tenzou knew he would fit right in after hearing the selling points during the Academy's Ninja Career Day.

"Someone will run by your apartment and drop off paperwork you need to fill out. And remember: the fact that you are even in ANBU is  _highly classified_." The Sandaime paused. "That will be all then."

Tenzou knew that was his cue to leave, but he was still rooted in place. He already felt extremely rude, asking the Hokage himself a series of questions, but he had to know. He had to know how he did on his evaluation. He was a fantastic ninja, of course, but he knew it would make him feel better to have a little slip of paper that reassured him of the truth.

"If you don't mind me asking, sir…"

"You want to know your exam results, hm? Everyone does, Tenzou."

Tenzou flushed. "Yes. How did my evaluation go, Hokage-sama?"

"Ah! The examiners were very impressed by your physical performance. Your talents are very rare indeed."

Tenzou bristled a little at the emphasis on the word 'physical'.

"And my… mental evaluation?"

The Sandaime smiled cheerfully as he attempted to cover the ' _disturbed, may need counseling_ ' the psychologist had scribbled on the evaluation sheet after interviewing Tenzou. It was standard fare, of course, but he saw no need to alarm the young man.

"You passed, so don't ask so many questions."

"I understand." Tenzou relaxed his military stance.

"Oh, wait a minute. Before you leave—"

Tenzou snapped back to attention, wincing at the mild pain it caused him.

"—come up with a mission codename you won't be embarrassed to have. If you don't, your captain will name you himself," he said, smiling pleasantly. "And your squad captain seems to have a… rather odd sense of humor."

Tenzou smiled back faintly. He had met some twisted individuals before. How bad could this new guy be? "He couldn't be as bad as you say, Hokage-sama."

Sandaime sighed wistfully. "His first year he dubbed a rookie Princess… it stuck with that poor soul for a whole year."

"Oh."

"Hm… if you don't have any more questions, you're dismissed."

His glowing feeling of victory faded away immediately.

Tenzou didn't care if he made a complete idiot of himself in front of the cute lobby assistant anymore. He didn't even care if he was rude. He yanked the office door open, slammed it shut behind him and all but ran down the hallway to the bathroom.

The Sandaime rubbed a hand to his forehead and gave a tired smile to this clerical chuunin. Reiko smiled back, clearly delighted to be noticed for the first time that day.

The Sandaime shuffled the papers on his desk. "I thought that punk would never leave, asking me all those question… did you see him trying to adjust his pants the whole time he was here? Kids these days. Coming in to my office touching themselves."

He turned his chair around and looked out the window of his office. A few wisps of white clouds hung in the clear blue sky. It was a perfect spring morning. The carvings of the greats that had stood in his office years ago were clearly visible across the village. The Sandaime sighed. He hadn't had a worry-free time of this Hokage business, but it seemed much easier to burden years ago, when his back ached less and the kids had the sense to leave when dismissed the first time.


	2. Meeting Your Match

Tenzou stared.

Bucket, his cat, stared back.

The both of them had been up since the crack of dawn.

Tenzou had been pacing the confines of his apartment for an hour. His route consisted of circling around the ragged couch with a varied pace and a walk to the kitchen where he opened the refrigerator door and peered in. Sometimes he would make it to his bathroom doorway and then forget why he had even headed that way.

Bucket was up because he couldn't sleep with all the noise his annoying owner was making. He watched Tenzou march around the living room again, tail swishing back and forth.

Tenzou sighed and flopped down on to his couch, missing Bucket by only a few inches. The urge to annoy his faithful cat peaked whenever he was in a grouchy mood.

Unfortunately for Tenzou, Bucket never tolerated his prissy moods for long. Tenzou gave an affectionate pat to Bucket's little head.

Bucket hissed.

"Sorry," murmured Tenzou.

Tenzou was a perfect picture of a nervous wreck.

There wasn't a stranger feeling in the world to Tenzou then being nervous. He felt more fidgety meeting a group of people than when he'd been told he had to climb up the side of a mountain one-handed with a two hundred pound rucksack on his back with ravenous, wild animals waiting for him at the bottom of the ridge lest he fell and didn't die from the impact.

Tenzou pursued his lips. His teacher was much more sadistic when his training methods were put out of context…

He tried to pinpoint the source of his nerves and could only come up with one reason: it must have been the codename. The Hokage had warned him of his new captain's "odd humor" and Tenzou was no closer to picking out a name now than he had been the day before.

It was a lot of pressure.

After leaving his meeting with the Hokage he had mulled around Konoha, kicking over rocks and scaring the Academy brats with his special glare when they had pelted a stone at his head. The look on their faces when wood shot out of the ground to wrap around their scrawny ankles… ah, yes, it had been the highlight of his day.

Thinking of something to call himself (other than his own given name), while still being able to keep his dignity, was a much harder task than Tenzou had thought. Knowing his luck, the closer he got to actually  _having_  to choose a codename in front of strangers, the more choked up he would become.

And then he'd be codenamed "Buttchin" or something for a year.

It was so depressing.

Bucket had enough of him then, somehow sensing his owner's nerves taking a dip for the worse, and jumped off the couch. Tenzou could have sworn that the cat glared at him as he stalked off to his scratching post.

Now abandoned by his friend, Tenzou couldn't stand being in the living room any longer. He walked to his room.

He scratched the back of his head, scanning his room for anything that might incriminate him later. His room wasn't filled with much anyway, but a ninja couldn't be too careful when dealing with future teammates. Tenzou had heard stories during his gate-guarding duties about fellow teammates sneaking into their new member's homes… to do what, he guy had not elaborated.

Tenzou wasn't too worried. His room was pristine. It looked as if whoever lived there used it to change clothes and sleep. Tenzou had to admit that appearances reflected reality.

A semi-comfortable bed was in the far corner, with a cheap nightstand next to it; his alarm clock and a framed picture were the only things on it. An oak dresser sat by the opposite wall and a full-length mirror was next to that, the mirror being an addition made by his female genin teammate, Yumi. All his ninja equipment was kept in a small walk-in closet. A painting of a lone tree hung on the wall. A planter hung outside his windowsill, but the plants had withered away and died a long time ago.

Tenzou looked at his reflection. He had to admit he did not look exceptional in any way, shape or form. He had untidy brown hair, dark almond-shaped eyes and a plain-looking face. His looks suited him just fine.

He didn't find much time for hobbies or vanity. He was only interested in becoming a great ninja. For once, his prayers had been answered and it seemed like he was finally on track to accomplishing his goals.

In truth, he didn't know if he would make a good ANBU member. He had been a shinobi for years, had shed blood, sweat and tears to reach these goals, but Tenzou had to admit that he lacked hardened battle experience. He hadn't fought in the war.

His teacher had mentioned, years ago, that battle experience wasn't everything if a ninja had soul and style. This bit of advice was one of the most insightful things Tenzou had heard him say. Most of the time Tenzou's questions were answered with a raucous laugh and then a cuff on the back of the head.

Tenzou chewed on his already mangled thumbnail. This had been his goal for the longest, he thought. ANBU. He couldn't mess this opportunity up.

Tenzou shrugged on his usual flak jacket and adjusted his faceplate. He had about thirty minutes before he had to leave for the Hokage Tower. A run around the village beforehand should do the trick to calm his nerves.

Several laps around Konoha later, Tenzou found himself lounging atop a shop building a few minutes away from the Hokage Tower. He was still as nervous as ever before, but the numbness in his thighs was indeed a good distraction. He clasped his fingers behind his head and took a deep breath.

"Hey, moron, what are you doing sitting around up here? You have a meeting with the Hokage in a few minutes."

Tenzou coughed roughly, cursing his horrible luck. He counted to five, hoping that he would be left alone, but when the shadow next to him did not disappear, Tenzou swiveled around to look up at the formidable silhouette of his former teacher. Tenzou was tall for his age but was still dwarfed in comparison.

The man was clad entirely in black even though the temperature was starting to climb. The only glimpses of skin was from his fingerless gloves and an open strip in his mask for his eyes—cruel, black eyes that still struck fear in Tenzou to this day.

How did his teacher know he had a meeting with the Hokage?

Tenzou opened his mouth to ask and smartly closed it soon afterwards. His teacher worked in very mysterious ways. Experience told him it was best not to ask any questions. After being under his tutelage for years, Tenzou knew the answer would be a swift kick off the roof.

_Tenzou twiddled his thumbs together, trying not to stare at the humongous shinobi in front of him. His sensei was in a seated position, his legs crossed with the backs of his hands lying on his thighs. The piercing, all-knowing eyes of his teacher were currently closed._

_He was making the entire team meditate, supposedly to increase chakra flow and focus. Tenzou found that couldn't focus when his teacher was sitting so calmly—he felt like the moment he shut his eyes_   _a shuriken would fly through the air and impale him._

_"Stop fidgeting."_

_Tenzou stilled, a hot blush spreading across his cheeks._

_It was his second official week of training with his four-man genin team._

_So far_   _it had been utter hell. His teammates were annoying and his teacher was the most sadistic person Tenzou ever had the misfortune to meet, let alone learn "the way of a ninja" from._

_The first week that Team J had officially trained together_   _the girl, Yumi, kept going on about how cold it was in the shade and that being out of the sun was bad for her complexion. It was twenty minutes of agonizingly high-pitched chatter before Tenzou had finally snapped and said no amount of sunlight would help her face._

_She then proceeded to scratch him to ribbons with her dagger-like nails._

_The welts were still prominent along his cheeks and collarbone a week later. He thought they would have disappeared after a few days but they had not. He resorted to wearing a faceplate to keep her claws away from him after that incident._

_Tenzou shifted around, keeping a close watch on the figure of his teacher. His gaze shifted around the rooftop they were meditating on._

_Yumi was sitting with her back ram-rod straight. Her eyes were clenched shut and she was chewing on a piece of gum._

_Daisuke, the self-proclaimed "super nerd" of the bunch, looked like he was dead asleep. A small trail of drool was leaking from the corner of his mouth. He was probably dreaming of buying the newly released edition of Dungeons & Nin-Dragons._

_"Hey, Tento—"_

_"My name is Tenzou, Sens-"_

_"Shut up when I'm talking to you! If you don't stop moving and start meditating, I'm seriously going to punt you off the roof."_

_"But how can I concen—"_

_One moment he asking a simple question and the next he was sailing through the air._

_When he woke up underneath a pile of lumber and watermelons ten minutes later, an old vendor kindly told him a rather large footprint bruise was forming on his face._

A sharp pang at the back of his head snapped him out of his stupor.

"I asked you a question."

Tenzou rubbed the back of his head, a great debate already in full swing inside of him. His acceptance into the ANBU ranks was top secret, but he felt that holding out his teacher would gain him several more bruises. Being axed from the registry versus the torment from his sensei… it was a rather weighty affair.

"Yes, I'm meeting with the Hokage in a few minutes." He paused, thinking. "I won't be late, if that's what you're wondering."

"That is an incorrect assumption."

Tenzou waited for his teacher's foot to come flying to send him into a dark oblivion. When it didn't come he relaxed slightly, wondering what was up with his teacher's strange behavior. Then it dawned on him like a huge flashing light bulb had just been turned on.

His eyes snapped up to the cold glare of his teacher. Holding back on the beatings was his teacher's own twisted way of saying "congratulations!" accompanied by a large, tearful hug.

It warmed Tenzou's heart. He liked to think it warmed his sensei's heart too. He smiled brightly.

And then he was promptly punted off the roof by the face.

* * *

Tenzou rocked back and forth on his heels.

Although he had arrived several minutes late to his appointment, he still was made to wait outside the office doors. Tenzou wasn't sure if it was for punishment for being late or because the Hokage had horrible scheduling.

Thankfully, this time, he had used the bathroom before he had announced his presence to the cute lobby assistant. She had been giggling a high-pitched voice at her desk every few seconds since.

Tenzou had broken out in a blotchy red blush. All his chances at a date with her flew out the window the moment he bumped into her with toilet paper stuck to his foot. She probably thought he had some sort of bladder condition.

"Tenzou!"

It wasn't a clear invite in, but Tenzou opened the doors to the Hokage's office and stepped in as stealthily as he could. He wanted to get as far away from the assistant's laugher as possible.

Instead of sitting behind his desk like the day before, the Sandaime was standing before it. Reiko, the clerical chuunin, was noticeably absent.

Instead, there were three men wearing ANBU uniforms standing to the right and left of the Hokage. With Tenzou present that made four to the squad, which left one person missing. Two of the men, on the Hokage's right, were tall and muscular. The third man, who stood to the Hokage's left, was short and very slim.

Although their eyes were obscured by their masks, Tenzou felt all eyes were trained on him.

The Sandaime looked at Tenzou curiously. "What happened to your face?"

His hand flew to his cheek where, no doubt, a foot-sized bruise was beginning to form. He had almost forgot about that and knew the moment he opened his mouth that his excuse would be pathetic. "Oh, this? I… walked into a door as I was leaving this morning."

The short ANBU member cleared his throat with two terse coughs.

Another spoke up. "If you're going to lie you might want to try and lie well. It looks like you got kicked in the face."

Tenzou's lips twitched as he tried to avoid scowling. His first impression was dying a slow, fiery death.

The Sandaime waved his hands as if trying to dispel the bad blood that was already gathering between the newly formed team.

"Now, now. We're all adults here, no need to fight just yet." He looked between Tenzou and the rest of the men in the room in exasperation.

"These men will form your new squad. Like I explained yesterday, you are on probation until your squad captain officially accepts you as a permanent member. Remember: the identities of all ANBU members are guarded. Any names and faces you remember today are strictly classified and their association with ANBU will not leave this room. Understood?"

"Yes, Hokage-sama."

"Now that that legal dribble is over with," the Sandaime said.

The shortest member of the masked quartet slid his mask off. He had a pale heart-shaped face, ink-black hair and very dark circles underneath his dark eyes. He looked impassive, maybe even bored. With a slight jolt Tenzou realized he recognized the sickly looking boy. Gekkou Hayate had been in the same graduating class as he.

Hayate coughed into his fist and gave Tenzou a faint smile. "Gekkou Hayate, we've met before."

"Shiranui Genma. A pleasure..." The ANBU that had lectured him earlier flipped up his mask and smirked, lifting a senbon to his lips with his free hand in one smooth move. He had dirty blond hair and tanned skin, the very opposite of Tenzou's former classmate. Tenzou had heard of Genma while eavesdropping around the jounin headquarters when he did clerical runs. He had a reputation for being an exceptional ninja, as well as an exceptional pervert.

The tallest of the group took off his mask last. He looked much older than both Genma and Hayate. A nasty-looking scar ran across his otherwise strong features. "Namiashi Raidou."

The Sandaime handed over the mission scroll to Raidou. "Let's get on with the details. Raidou, you'll have to fill him in later."

"Yes, Sir."

Tenzou thought Raidou must have been the squad captain then. He didn't look like the type to have a supposedly twisted sense of humor though. In fact, if Tenzou said so himself, without the scar he might have looked a little bland. Tenzou glanced at the older man once more, trying his hardest to not stare at his prominent scarring.

"The Fire Country Counsel has noticed that one of its more eccentric daimyos has been amassing great debt from other countries," Hokage said. "As you can imagine, this has strained already tender inter-country relations."

Raidou furrowed his eyebrows, scanning the mission scroll. "It looks like he already suspects the hit. That, or he thinks the thugs are coming to collect their money. His security detail is ridiculous..."

The Sandaime nodded.

"Any important details?" Genma asked.

"Patience, Genma. I was getting to that," the Sandaime said. "He possesses a ring that is extremely important. The counsel wants him disposed of, but they also need this ring retrieved and returned to Konoha expeditiously."

"Is he one of the Five Seals?" asked Hayate.

"Perceptive as ever," remarked the Sandaime. "He is one of Fire's Five."

"Sounds simple enough." Raidou shrugged.

Not to Tenzou, however. He had no idea what it meant to be "Fire's Five". His first impression was still suffering in a corner somewhere—he didn't dare open his mouth and completely kill it just yet. He tucked that piece of information in the back of his mind, knowing that a trip to the library was in order. If he were careful enough, he might even convince Daisuke to do the legwork for him.

The Sandaime set down an entire stack of papers on the top of his desk. Upon further inspection Tenzou noticed that they were blueprints.

Blueprints to a very, very large house.

"Of course, it is never as simple as we wish it could be. The daimyo has also fallen in to fits of senility. Ever since his wife died he has been under the impression that demons are after him. The daimyo has taken to building extensions on to his existing house. Rooms and gardens that weren't there a month ago have sprung up. As Raidou said, security is tight. Assume they are just as skilled as you are. Getting in shouldn't be too difficult, but locating him will also pose to be a problem. Intel suggests that the daimyo moves to different rooms each day."

Tenzou thought the daimyo needed help, not a kunai to the head.

"Why do we need to kill him? Can't the Counsel ask him to turn over his lordship and his ring?" Tenzou blurted out and immediately regretted it. Genma, Raidou and Hayate were looking at him like he had sprouted tentacles on his face.

The Sandaime chuckled. "Ah, Tenzou, I was wondering when you would speak up."

Tenzou swallowed thickly. His tongue felt like lead in his mouth. "My apologies, Hokage-sama, I shouldn't have—"

"No harm done, Tenzou. It was a very good question, one I did indeed ask myself when we were given the mission order," the Sandaime said. "I'm sure we can come to the answer together. Now think. Why would the Counsel require his death?"

Tenzou recollected back to his Academy days and now saw the flaw in his suggestion and felt embarrassment rush over him once more. "Because Feudal Lords can't pass their titles down until they die."

The Sandaime smiled. "Very good. Yes, in the eyes of this very ancient law, a Feudal Lord passes down his title and land to his firstborn son upon his death. Changing the law, so that these Lords can be impeached when someone is unhappy with what they are doing is what the Counsel fears the most, as many seated on this Counsel hold Lord titles themselves."

"There is still the matter of his debt as well," said Hayate.

"Killing him won't pay the thugs off, but they can't extort a dead guy," said Genma.

"I understand," Tenzou replied, thoroughly feeling wrung out. How many new ANBU got lectured during their first mission briefing by the Hokage himself? "The entire ninja thing is morally ambiguous anyway."

"Anyway," the Sandaime said after a moment. "Have you come up with a codename, Tenzou?"

Tenzou stared at the Sandaime, having completely forgotten what name he had considered for himself.

He opened his mouth to reply just as someone burst through the door as lazily as someone could burst in. His new teammates had already snapped their masks back over their faces.

The mysteriously late fellow slid his mask off which, Tenzou soon discovered, did not do too much to reveal his identity. He was a young looking man, despite his shockingly silver-colored hair. The lower part of his face was covered by a mask and his left eye by his forehead protector. His visible eye crinkled in what Tenzou perceived as a deceptive kind of innocence. He raised one hand sheepishly.

"So sorry I'm late, Hokage-sama. I was on my way here when a swarm of elderly women demanded I take their luggage to the hotel across the street. I just couldn't say no."

Hayate sighed. "Hatake-san, you know we're not allowed to have any civilian interaction while in this uniform."

Tenzou could hardly believe it, but he thought he saw the Sandaime roll his eyes.

Genma, who was unmasked once again, bopped the guy's shoulder. "Save it, Hatake. I saw you out late at the bar last night."

"Must have been someone else."

Tenzou felt like he'd just been doused in ice-cold water.

_This guy is THE Hatake Kakashi? Copy Ninja, greatest ninja ever, Hatake Kakashi?_

The Sandaime clapped his hands together. "Come now, that's enough. I don't have all day to listen to you bicker amongst yourselves. Raidou, I expect you to take it from here."

Kakashi nodded once again, not even having the decency to look embarrassed by his tardiness.

The Sandaime looked up from the pipe he was about to light.

"You're all still here?" He sighed and held a flame underneath the pipe. "Go on and leave an old man to his thoughts, eh?"

Raidou threw Kakashi a stern look as they filed out towards the lobby. "As our team leader you might want to be on time  _at least_ for the mission briefings.  _At least_."

If Tenzou's jaw could have unhinged, it would have. Not only did he just learn Hatake Kakashi was someone who had the audacity to turn up late to an important mission briefing with the Hokage, but he was also the one who held Tenzou's future in his hands.

Now this guy looked like he could possess a sick sense of humor.

As if sensing his newest teammate's trepidation, Kakashi's visible eye swiveled to look at Tenzou. He stuck a thumb out in Tenzou's direction. "Is this the moron that's taking the empty slot?"

The group of ninja turned to look at Tenzou, as if to gauge his reaction. Tenzou wanted to scowl but instead kept his features as blank as he could. His desire to make a good first impression (already marred by the foot-shaped bruise on his face and the question he had asked) overwhelmed the side of him crying over his pride.

He felt an unmistakable tension crackle in the air.

Kakashi regarded him coolly.

Genma broke the uneasy silence with a laugh. "Yeah, he's the new guy… I think it's time we went out for celebratory drinks. We haven't had a new guy in a long time."

Hayate looked like he was about to protest but settled for a shrug instead. "I might as well make sure you get home in one piece."

"Drinking so early before a mission isn't wise," Raidou said sharply.

Kakashi waved his hand, dismissing what Tenzou thought was very sound advice. "We set out in three days. A little loosening up might do you some good."

Raidou looked like he was visibly struggling with himself, but gave a resolved sigh after a moment. "Fine, fine."

Tenzou furrowed his eyebrows. "I'm clearly underage."

"If you're old enough to kill a man, you can drink," Kakashi deadpanned. "They don't ask questions where we're going anyway."

Tenzou was about to argue his case – something or other about not breaking laws – but before he had the chance to utter a word, Kakashi had disappeared in a flurry of leaves and smoke. Tenzou waved a hand underneath his nose.

_What an asshole,_  he thought.

As if he could tell what Tenzou was thinking, Raidou clapped him on the shoulder. His grip was a bit too tight to be casual, but it was far from menacing. He looked at Tenzou curiously. "Don't take anything Kakashi says personally… at least for now. We all had to sign off on your application. You're here for a reason. Just show us what you can do."

Tenzou was speechless.

"Meet us at The Angry Shinobi at eleven," Genma said.

"But I really can't drink." It was a meek protest and he was sure the rest of the team hadn't heard it as they had disappeared immediately after Genma had given them a time.

Tenzou had a feeling they would be force-feeding him shots all night long. Perhaps they would make him dance atop the bar tables, or sing karaoke? He shuddered at the very thought.

"Angry Shinobi at eleven," he said aloud to no one at all.

_I hate my life._


	3. Visions of Green and Orange

It was five minutes to eleven and Tenzou was outside The Angry Shinobi.

It was a decrepit looking establishment, old and weathered like the doorman who sat on a stool by the entrance. Loud music and murmurs from the patrons inside leaked through the doors every time they swung open. The stench of cigarettes and stale beer lingered outside.

Tenzou was embarrassed to admit that he had been waiting outside for the past fifteen minutes. The doorman was now openly staring at him. Tenzou had attempted to enter the establishment a few times before, but had aborted the mission as soon as he had reached the doorway. He was sure he didn't look "cool" now, standing outside the bar like some girl had stood him up for a date, but he just couldn't get past that damn old man.

Tenzou had foregone wearing his flak jacket and faceplate tonight. He tugged at his collar, feeling almost suffocated by his long-sleeved shirt. He spent so much time wearing his uniform that it felt unnatural to be wearing anything else. He chewed on his short thumbnail.

Tenzou wasn't sure if his new teammates were already inside the bar or not. It would take a great deal of effort to detect their distinct chakra signatures inside the building since there were so many others inside. The effort would probably be fruitless anyway. It was turning out—more often than not—that these people were always late. Genma had told him eleven. He hadn't specified where they would be meeting (inside or outside the building) and he hadn't mentioned whether their eleven o'clock rendezvous would be a meeting for going inside  _together_ or if Tenzou had to go inside alone. Crap, he thought, he was overanalyzing this.

There was a shift in the air that caught his attention and the hairs on the back of his neck prickled. Genma materialized out of thin air a few feet away. Tenzou acknowledged his teammate with a nod. A moment later, Hayate popped up a little ways down the street.

"Raidou is held up and Kakashi—well, I'm sure he'll be on his way any moment. Ready to head inside?" Genma asked, nodding his head towards the bar.

Tenzou lagged behind a little, contemplating how far he would be able to run away before Genma would pin him to a building with kunai and drag him back.

"So Raidou's girlfriend is getting on his case about going out with us again," Genma explained, more to Hayate than Tenzou, as he pushed the door open and ushered his companions in.

Hayate nodded sagely as if this type of hold-up happened rather often.

Tenzou wasn't too sure as what to say, so he settled for being a little sexist. "Women," he said with a shake of his head.

Genma looked at him strangely. "Yeah, that's what I said."

The Angry Shinobi didn't look much better inside. The smell of cigarettes was suffocating and the stale stench of drying liquor was nauseating. The chatter inside died down for a moment as the patrons turned to look at the new arrivals. Genma grinned like he was a frequent customer. Hayate, on the other hand, looked uncomfortable by the scrutiny. Tenzou avoided eye contact all together.

Genma slapped his hand across Tenzou's back and pushed him towards an empty booth in the back corner. Hayate followed.

"Hey," Genma said to the bartender with a knowing wink. "We got a new guy tonight."

They all scooted into the booth with Hayate and Genma next to each other and Tenzou sitting across from them. A waitress came over to take their order—she was very blonde and very pretty. She seemed to know Genma, if the reproachable look she gave him meant anything.

Genma paid no attention to her glare and ordered a whiskey sour, two beers and a glass of water.

"Coming right up," she said coolly and walked off to the bar.

Genma leaned in conspiratorially. "So Raidou's story just keeps getting worse and worse. The last mission—you know the one, we were gone for a month—he forgot to tell her he was even  _leaving_ Konoha. She broke into his house after a week of not hearing from him… I guess she assumed he was avoiding her on purpose, the crazy bit—sorry Hayate—crazy  _woman_. He's totally cock-blocked. I just don't understand why or how he puts up with that kind of abuse. There are more than enough girls around here to whet his-"

Tenzou tried his best not listen in any more. He did not want to hear details about his teammate's sex life, or lack thereof, especially after only making his acquaintance earlier that day.

"So where is Kakashi-sempai?" Tenzou changed the subject.

Genma laughed loudly. "In the past five years that I've known him Hatake has been on time six times."

"Twice on accident, I believe," Hayate said blandly, although he too seemed relieved by the change in conversation.

Tenzou's curiosity was peaked now. "Why's that?"

Genma shrugged and leaned back against the booth coolly, both his arms slung across the top.

Hayate cleared his throat. "I don't think anyone really knows."

"And no one really cares that he's late," Tenzou concluded.

"Don't get the wrong impression. We're annoyed as hell whenever he makes us wait for hours—"

"But he's more than reliable when he needs to be," Hayate continued. "He's a great ninja."

Genma nodded. "I bet you my favorite kunai set he'll be the Hokage one day."

Tenzou rubbed his index finger on the table surface with a little more force than was necessary.

_Hatake Kakashi this, the great Copy Ninja that._

It was likely the three hundred and thirty fifth time Tenzou had heard someone compliment Kakashi. He had heard the name in passing often—afterall, Hatake Kakashi had been a child prodigy and lived up to every expectation that had been doled out to him. Kakashi's exploits and talents were often talked of by the junior ninja and Tenzou begrudgingly had to admit that he'd been one of them.

If he had learned beforehand that the great Hatake Kakashi would be his squad leader, Tenzou might have reacted differently during their first meeting. He might have accepted the lateness, the aloofness, or the rudeness. After all, he was in the presence of the great Copy Ninja. Now, all the hero-worshipping he had done seemed ridiculous and juvenile.

The blonde waitress came by at that moment with a tray of alcohol. Genma waggled his eyebrows at her and she scoffed in return. "Not tonight, okay?"

"You always say that, Izugo," Genma replied in a sing-song voice.

Indeed, Genma looked unaffected by Izugo's rebuffs. He pushed the beer towards Tenzou and slid the whiskey sour in his own direction. Hayate lifted the glass of water to his lips and took a drink.

Tenzou looked at the frothy amber liquid with distaste. "I'm not really in the mood to drink."

Genma smirked, senbon bobbing up and down like a menacing little serpent. "We didn't invite you out here to have some tea."

"Then how about some water?" Tenzou said, giving a pointed look to Hayate.

Genma snorted. "Where's the fun in that?"

"If he doesn't want to drink, you can't make him."

Tenzou decided that Hayate was the only one that seemed to be on his side tonight.

"You're always the wet blanket around here, you know that?" Genma said petulantly.

Tenzou pushed his glass of beer back and forth. Genma turned back towards Hayate and blathered on. Tenzou felt plainly awkward now, too polite to listen to their conversation or try to butt in. While he wasn't a wallflower, he wasn't a social butterfly by any means. Growing up under the circumstances he'd had, Tenzou was surprised he wasn't more of an introvert (or psychopath). He had been relatively well liked in his Academy class – even though he had a sneaking suspicion it was because he could make a tree house on demand.

Most times he felt like he didn't belong in a big group of people. Like now, as he was watching the pair in front of him talk like best friends.

Tenzou wanted to warm up to his squad, show them he was a valuable asset. Granted, this desire was mostly founded on selfish grounds—he had aspired to be ANBU for years and wanted nothing more than to be a captain himself, maybe even a commander one day. His teacher had often criticized him for a being a lone wolf in his genin years but Tenzou hadn't seen much reason to change. He was an exceptional ninja on his own and worked well in a team, he just hadn't ever seen the point in knowing anyone intimately well.

The beer was looking more and more inviting with each passing minute. Finally, Tenzou took a large gulp. The strange taste of the drink lingered on his tongue. It wasn't horrible, but it was definitely an acquired taste. It caught Genma's attention, however. He looked on in mild surprise. Hayate looked betrayed.

The door to the bar swung open and Raidou walked in. He looked roughed up and red in the cheeks, like he had just left a screaming match. The chatter in the bar died down once again and then returned to full volume as Raidou made his way to the booth in the far back corner. He slid in next to Tenzou. "Hey, sorry I'm late."

"Isn't that Kakashi-sempai's line?" Tenzou remarked, feeling a little brave.

Genma barked in laughter. "I think I like this guy."

Tenzou had to admit that his joke was rather lame but was glad that it had been received well. Either Tenzou was more of a comedian than he'd thought or Genma really didn't know how to hold his drink.

Raidou waved the waitress over and ordered a single-malt scotch, three fingers deep with no ice.

"Rough night?" Genma remarked, wincing.

Raidou's face screwed up. "You have no idea," Raidou said, his face screwed up in what looked like repressed rage. "Speaking of Kakashi, do you think he's going to show tonight?"

Tenzou raised an eyebrow. "He sounded like he was all about it earlier."

"Last time we came here, he showed up so late we were already getting kicked out by the owner," Genma said.

"We got kicked out because you wouldn't stop singing karaoke when he had asked and very politely, mind you," Hayate said.

Raidou mumbled into his scotch. "And it wasn't even karaoke night."

Genma looked miffed. "Don't get your panties in a twist. And don't worry, it's actually karaoke night tonight."

True to Genma's word, a karaoke stage was set up an hour after they'd arrived and The Angry Shinobi became increasingly more crowded as the hours passed. A never-ending line of wannabe singers had grouped around it. The singing was subpar at best and atrocious at worst, but Tenzou found himself catcalling along with the rest of the bar. He had to admit that it was fun. Even Hayate, quite possibly the most reserved person Tenzou had ever met, was clapping along.

Before Tenzou realized what had happened one beer had turned into two—three—four—five…

Sometime much later, after Tenzou had completely lost track of time, the door to the bar swung open again. The bar was already in full swing and hardly anyone took notice.

Genma nodded his head towards the entrance. Tenzou turned to look.

Hatake Kakashi had just strolled in.

It was one of the strangest sights that Tenzou had ever seen. Kakashi had his full jounin uniform on—flak jacket, sandals and all. A book with a vibrant orange cover was held up to his face and he was reading it with extreme interest. Like it had been earlier, his left eye was covered. Tenzou knew, from word of mouth, that it covered the much-coveted Sharingan eye.

The space from the door to the booth wasn't far, but Kakashi took sweet time wandering over.

_What is he trying to do? Look cool?_  Tenzou didn't buy into it for one second. Tenzou polished off his beer with a sour look in his new captain's direction.

After what seemed like an eternity of walking towards them Kakashi finally lowered his book from his face as he slouched in front of the booth. His visible eye was crinkled in much the same fashion as it had earlier that day.

"So sorry I was late, I got lost on the road—"

Raidou cut him off, "— on the road of life. We know. You used that excuse last week."

Kakashi scratched his forehead sheepishly. "Actually, I was going to say the road down the street… you know the one."

"Pull a chair up," Hayate said, gesturing to the few vacant chairs left in the building. Kakashi grabbed the nearest one. It was unfortunate that it was already occupied. The fellow, whose chair was now stolen, wobbled around trying to keep his balance. A few of his friends grabbed onto his shirt to keep him from toppling over. The guy glared at Kakashi. "Hey!"

"Yo," said Kakashi back, very cheerfully.

Hayate's lips quirked up and Genma was laughing again. Raidou rolled his eyes.

The blonde waitress came by not a minute later and put another scotch in front of Raidou. She also carried a tray of shots in her other hand. She looked much happier to see Kakashi than she had been to see Genma.

Kakashi quirked an eyebrow. "Who are these for?"

"On the house," she said, smiling shyly.

Tenzou felt a twinge of jealousy spread through his body. It might have been the alcohol finally catching up to him but he felt that, at that very moment, the world was truly unfair. Kakashi was rude, tardy, crippled (with that one fancy eye, Tenzou thought darkly), but was exceptional popular with almost everyone that knew him.

Raidou passed the shots around the table. "Thanks, Izugo. Well, since we're celebrating our new group, Tenzou has to do the honors."

"Honors?" Tenzou said hazily.

"Give a toast," Hayate explained.

"I don't know what to say."

Kakashi gave him a lazy look. "I actually thought you would be an interesting addition. Apparently I was wrong."

Kakashi's words ignited a repressed anger inside of Tenzou so quickly it made him dizzy. Before Kakashi had joined them at the bar, Tenzou had been feeling great. Now, much of his usual restraint flew out the window. There was no way he would be talked down to like that, he thought. Tenzou made a noise very much like a growl and reached for the shot in front of him.

Raidou grabbed Tenzou's sleeve. "Slow down, kid."

Kakashi looked amused. "Do you even know how to shoot this?"

Tenzou flushed in anger. "No."

Hayate shot him a strained look.

Tenzou knew he was slurring now, but he couldn't stem the flow of words coming from his mouth. "How's this for a toast? You all suck."

Kakashi laughed. It was the first time Tenzou had seen him laugh all night.

Genma grinned and slapped the tabletop. "A good enough toast if I ever did hear one. We're young and there's no guarantee we're gonna make it home to be older. Drink up, ladies!"

Everyone, including Hayate, took a shot. Kakashi had lifted that orange-covered book to his face while taking his, effectively hiding his face. The only drink left was Tenzou's. Everyone, including Kakashi, turned towards Tenzou expectantly. Escape was futile. His only choices were to stab and run or, like Genma had said, drink up. Much to his dismay, Tenzou remembered he had left all his kunai at home.

* * *

Tenzou wasn't sure how much time had passed since his first shot.

In fact, he wasn't sure about a lot of things anymore. For instance, it seemed that no matter how fast he drank he always had something in front of him to drink.

Raidou had an arm around Tenzou and was singing loudly along to the karaoke. Tenzou swayed softly, tapping his foot to the bump of the bass and hummed along. A grin was plastered to his face and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't wipe it off. The room titled a very funny way. This whole drunk thing wasn't so bad, he thought. His reaction time was severely hampered and his overall awareness was nonexistent, but who needed that when he had Raidou to lean on (heavily, for the room was spinning now)?

Tenzou blinked slowly.

Hayate cleared his throat and leaned towards his superior. "Hatake-san, I don't think it was such a good idea to give him so much to drink."

Kakashi eyed Tenzou.

Tenzou glared back, his cheeks flushed a bright pink.

"Shit! It's almost three," Raidou said, finally checking the clock hanging on the wall. "I have to leave."

After a moment Kakashi sighed. "Raidou, take him home, would you?"

"Not this time, Kakashi." Raidou slid out of the booth. "I promised the ball and chain I'd be home by three, which it will be five minutes. Besides that, she'll kill me if I bring home a drunk."

Tenzou didn't appreciate the way they were talking about him. He was sitting right there…

Kakashi waved his hand towards the exit. "Be strong."

"Thanks." Raidou was gone in a flash.

"Hayate?" Kakashi nodded his head in Tenzou's direction.

"You know I would, but I have Genma to deal with." Hayate sighed. "Why don't you take him home? I'll handle the bill."

Kakashi ran a hand through his hair. "I knew I should've showed up at closing time."

Hayate shrugged a shoulder, clearly not in the mood to sympathize.

"Ah well." Kakashi grinned cheerfully. "C'mon, moron."

"Don't call me that," Tenzou said with a severe slur.

Tenzou was more far-gone than he'd thought because he got out without any question when Kakashi grabbed him by the arm and pulled him out of the booth. He swayed on his feet, but felt that he did a good job of keeping himself upright. At least he wasn't falling all over the place. The last thing he wanted to do was need to hold on to Kakashi for support.

He looked at Kakashi suspiciously. "Where are we going?"

Kakashi led him out of the bar by the elbow a little more roughly than Tenzou thought necessary. "Where do you think?"

It was  _so_ like him to answer a question with another question, he thought. Tenzou pointed a finger at the Copy Ninja. "Obviously not my place. You're gonna lead me into a back alley and slit my throat, aren't you?"

For once, Kakashi looked perplexed. "How did you read my mind?"

Tenzou broke out into a cheerful grin. "Just kidding! Wait—what-"

Kakashi tugged him along. "I'm just kidding, too."

Tenzou huffed.

"Um… I can't remember which way to go." Tenzou looked left and right down the deserted street. He shrugged in his stupor, genuinely forgetting how he'd made it to the bar.

"We'll be fine as long as you can recognize your apartment number," Kakashi said slowly. "I looked over your file."

"What's wrong with you?" Tenzou gaped. "That's—there's personal stuff in there."

Kakashi took a left down the street, clearly expecting Tenzou to follow. Which he did. If getting home meant he had to deal with Kakashi, then so be it. He waved cheerfully to the doorman who was still sitting outside the bar.

"I didn't think you'd mind me looking," said Kakashi when they were a few blocks down the street.

"I do. Do I get to look at your file? Noooo… so it's not fair!"

Kakashi paused. "Are you normally this annoying?"

"Ugh... my head…"

"I see."

Kakashi pulled out the book he had been reading when he'd walked into the bar and flipped it open. Tenzou leaned over to take a peek, but the book was turned away from his curious gaze before he had the chance to make out the characters.

"Rude," he mumbled.

"What's that?" Kakashi asked lightly.

"Nothing…"

All Tenzou had to amuse himself on the trek home was trying not to fall over. As a ninja, his balance was exceptional – so under normal circumstances walking in a straight line didn't give him much excitement. With a little added alcohol, however, Tenzou discovered that he could have fun all night long.

"OSU!"

Tenzou's gaze snapped up from the pavement. Everything spun around wildly as he did so. The pleasant warmth in his stomach was gone and he was beginning to feel nauseous. When the spinning street in front of him settled, Tenzou visibly recoiled.

A man with the worst fashion sense he had ever seen stood in front of them. He was wearing green spandex and bright orange legwarmers. He had a shiny bowl haircut and supremely white teeth. He was giving them a thumbs-up.

"Am I hallucinating?" Tenzou wondered aloud.

"Do not fear, youthful shinobi," the man declared loudly. "I am the Green Beast of Konoha, prowling the night. Alas, I have stumbled upon the person I have been looking for since this morning!"

Tenzou squinted. The first thought that ran through his mind was:  _This guy is ridiculous._

And then:  _Oh my god, is he trying to mug us?_

"You missed our challenge this morning, Kakashi."

Kakashi glanced up from his book. He looked as if he had only just realized someone was standing in front of him. "Oh, Gai, it's you."

The man, Gai, laughed heartily. "Indeed it is I. I request that the challenge be resolved tonight."

Tenzou moaned into his hands. "No, no, no… I want to go home."

Gai ignored him and continued addressing Kakashi. "And I believe it is your turn to pick the wager."

Kakashi tapped a finger to his chin in thought.

After a moment he said, "Okay. Here's how it will work…"

He pointed to Tenzou. "Whoever can grab him fastest and then take him home first wins."

Gai looked puzzled. "Very interesting wager, I say. But I do not know his address."

"He lives in the Red Leaf apartment buildings across town."

"Uh — third floor, apartment number five," Tenzou supplied on instinct.

"Right. So on the count of three, the competition will begin."

Tenzou scowled and took a wobbly step backwards. He lifted his hands up in a defensive position. "Wait, wait—competition?"

Gai grinned. "I will win or I will run backwards around the village two thousand and five hundred times!"

"Yeah, sure, that sounds great." Kakashi yawned. "One… Two… Three…"

Before he had the chance to react or defend himself, Tenzou was swept off his feet. He found himself hanging in a fireman's carry once the world had stopped spinning, his head bouncing violently off a green-clad backside. The nausea he had experienced before returned tenfold; the ugly green spandex and orange legwarmers did not help with calming his weak stomach. He slapped a hand over his mouth, trying to regain his bearings before he vomited.


	4. Tactics Over Coffee

Tenzou found himself lying on his side the next morning, a trail of saliva at the corner of his mouth wetting his poor pillow. His entire body felt stiff, as if he had went through a rigorous training session.

He pulled back his bed covers and looked down at his clothes. Nothing was amiss except for his sandals. He wiggled his toes, feeling ridicously relieved that they wiggled on command.

He yanked the covers back over his head and gave a pathetic moan. His head was pounding. His mouth tasted like he hadn't brushed it in weeks. He wanted nothing more than to sink into his mattress and never come back out.

There were two truths he learned then.

One: this was all Hatake Kakashi's fault.

Two: he was never going to drink again.

Tenzou clenched his eyes shut and wriggled further underneath his covers. He hadn't felt this pathetic in a long time. He was very thankful that he had the day off today. He could and would lie in bed all day long.

The next time Tenzou woke up, sunlight was pouring brightly through his bedroom window.

Tenzou hadn't thought it possible, but his skull was pulsing even harder than it had been when he had first woken up. He licked his cracked lips and swallowed. Sooner or later he would need to drag his sorry, hung-over ass out of bed and into the kitchen for a pitcher of water.

Tenzou normally did not sleep past seven o'clock in the morning—he was usually out training. His alarm clock was steadily blinking "12:00". With a dismayed sigh, he realized the power in the building must have gone out during the night.

His landlord was a little insane and often fiddled with the main switchboard. There were many days when Tenzou had been unable to tell the time because of this, so he had learned how to approximate the hour through the position of the sun like any good ninja should have been able to do.

After taking a slow breath, he attempted to gauge the time by squinting out the window. A big mistake that was, he soon realized, as the sunlight bore into his eye like little daggers.

He rolled on to his side.  _Who the hell doesn't close their blinds at night?_

_Kakashi_  probably didn't close his blinds. He seemed just the type to dump his teammates off at home drunk while he left their blinds wide open. Just to torture them when the inevitable sunrise came or something.

Tenzou blinked at his empty doorway.

He was missing something. An important piece of information was clawing its way through his aching brain.

His captain hadn't brought him home last night.

Tenzou remembered, vaguely, of another man reaching into his pockets for house keys. Some guy wearing green spandex who had spoken much too enthusiastically for the time of night (or morning, really) had taken him home. Tenzou must have been dragged inside after the guy opened the door; a fuzzy memory of stumbling down his hallway popped into his head.

After that, he must have been dumped onto his bed and then covered in a thick blanket. Tenzou wasn't sure when his shoes had come off, so he figured he must have passed out by then.

It was embarrassing to be taken care of by someone else. Especially since he had no previous affiliation with said caretaker. The rational part of him said to thank the guy the next time he spotted green spandex. The more manly side, the one that clutched pride and dignity like a life preserver, shouted to avoid all orange legwarmers for the next decade or so.

"I see you're up."

Tenzou's already dry mouth lost all its moisture now.

"What the hell are you doing here?" he croaked pathetically.

Genma shrugged innocently.

Tenzou glowered, sat up and swung his legs over the edge of his bed. He rubbed his face roughly, wondering why he had to be punished so severely after all the things he had already gone through in his short life.

"It figures you'd just break in to my house. Is there anyone else in here I should know about?" he muttered dejectedly.

"I'm sorry, I can't hear you over your crying," Genma said brightly. "Hayate is in your living room. I didn't know you were a cat person."

Tenzou waved his hand dismissively. There was no point in arguing or shooing out his superiors, especially when he was hung-over and in no mood to haul dead bodies into the dumpster out in the back.

"The cat was a gift from a friend."

Genma smirked. "What's her name?"

"Bucket is a  _he_."

"I meant the female friend." Genma paused. "Wait—you named your cat  _Bucket_?"

"Yes."

"That's cruel, man. Just cruel." Genma shook his head solemnly.

Tenzou had been getting slack about naming his cat 'Bucket' ever since he had acquired him. He hadn't even wanted to have the feline in the first place, no matter how cute and cuddly the fuzz ball had been.

It might have been pretty juvenile at the time, but naming Bucket, well, 'Bucket' was an ill-conceived ploy to get rid of him. It had almost worked too. Yumi was so pissed off she had given away life for it to be called 'Bucket' that she refused to talk to Tenzou for a week. After pummeling him thoroughly, of course.

Tenzou had eventually grown a strong fondness for Bucket. He was still too stubborn to give into his team's request for Bucket's name to be changed, though. By the time he realized how stupid the name 'Bucket' really was, the cat was already used to it.

Tenzou got up from the bed and noted that the pressure inside his head doubled and his knees almost buckled underneath him. What drove men to drink if this was the consequence? On the other hand, Genma looked unaffected by the alcohol from the previous night. He had had at least twice as much as Tenzou to drink.

Tenzou opened up his drawers and looked for something decent to wear. All he wanted at the moment was a long, hot shower and a change of clothing.

"Ahem." Genma was still standing in the doorway, looking at Tenzou almost expectantly.

"Um. Can I help you with something?" Tenzou asked slowly, pausing in his search through his drawers.

Genma nodded. "Where's the bathroom?"

"It's right down the hallway," Tenzou said crossly.

"Thanks." Genma pushed off the doorframe and left down the hall.

Tenzou went back to rummaging through his drawers, idly wondering if Genma would look through his medicine cabinet. Then again, there was no point in thinking about  _whether or not_  he would do it. It was a question of  _when_ he would. Tenzou knew Genma would snoop. He just looked the type.

Tenzou sighed, looking underneath messily folded pairs of boxers and undershirts. Although his shirts varied mostly in color, it was always a pain to choose presentable clothes, as they were often wrinkled and he didn't own an iron. His ninja gear and house were immaculate, but he stuffed clothes into his drawers without much care.

He pulled out a pair of faded blue boxers, a simple pair of sweats and a black shirt. All his clothes were in desperate need of a tumble through a washing machine. Tenzou made a mental note of going to the Laundromat before leaving for the mission.

He then made his bed neatly and laid his clothing out on top. Tenzou walked out into the hallway, noting the sounds of poorly concealed snooping in his bathroom. The kitchen was only a shuffle and a step to the right after the short hallway ended. If he took a shuffle to the left, he would have been in the living room.

Hayate was playing leisurely with Bucket by the cat scratch post. Hayate looked up and nodded.

As much as Tenzou wanted to throw the nearest telephone in the general direction of his impromptu guest, Tenzou couldn't muster up the energy to be upset with Hayate. He had always been polite and now had the approval of Bucket. He was probably dragged to come by Genma anyway.

Tenzou opened up several cabinets above his microwave before remembering that his Advil was stashed away below the cutlery drawer. The downside to being on missions or training during most of his waking hours often made Tenzou feel like a stranger in his own apartment. He unscrewed the child-safe cap without much trouble and dumped out a handful of pills into his cupped palm.

Genma popped out of a nowhere. "Two pills will do."

"I think I know what I'm doing."

He popped the pills in his mouth and lifted the glass to his lips. The water tasted better than anything he'd ever had to drink before. He poured himself another two full glasses before he slowed down.

"Now," he paused for dramatic effect, tilting his face downwards to case the light  _so just_  for his infamous ghoul face. "What are you two doing in my house?"

Hayate pointed at his own face. "Is that supposed to… scare us?"

Tenzou rubbed his aching head, hardly in the mood. "I have the day off today and I'm trying to spend it far, far away from… the sun…"

Hayate coughed. "Hatake-san ordered for a strategy meeting today."

"And you broke into my house to tell me this," deadpanned Tenzou.

Hayate shrugged and then waved a piece of string above Bucket's head. "You didn't answer your door when we knocked."

"And we knocked for almost ten minutes," said Genma, who was now walking around Tenzou's rather small living room. Tenzou didn't think Genma had that much self-restraint—but then he remembered that Hayate was probably the one that had held Genma back.

"Wouldn't  _not opening your door_  be a universal sign for: 'go the hell away, I have a hangover'?" Tenzou poured himself another glass of water.

"The meeting was a last minute call—" Hayate said.

"—as usual," Genma chimed in.

Hayate continued on. "Normally Hatake-san would leave the briefing for the day we leave, but… something came up with the mission details that made him change his mind."

"That seems out of character for him," Tenzou said.

"It is, actually," Hayate said, ignoring the blatant sarcasm rolling off Tenzou.

"You know the plans that the Hokage laid out during the mission briefing?" Genma asked.

Tenzou nodded.

"Intel is having a difficult time producing blueprints that correctly match the daimyo's house," Genma explained. "He demolishes parts one day and rebuilds it entirely differently the next day."

"Without proper study of the acreage and surrounding area, the mission would be unsafe for us. Hatake-san wants to make sure we're prepared for anything."

"The meeting was set to be at ten today, but knowing Kakashi, he won't be there till one." Genma nodded towards the battery-set alarm hanging on Tenzou's wall. It was thirty minutes to one, Tenzou noted with much shame. This was the latest he had slept in since he could remember.

Tenzou looked down at his clothing. "Give me ten minutes to shower and change."

"Take as long as you want," Genma said, looking severe. "I didn't want to say anything, but you smell like garbage on a hot summer day."

* * *

"Last night, Kakashi-sempai convinced some guy wearing green spandex to take me home for him." Tenzou gestured vaguely, hoping that his companions wouldn't take that statement the wrong way.

"That would be Maito Gai." Hayate said. Neither Hayate nor Genma seemed alarmed that Kakashi would dump the duty on to someone else.

"What's his deal?" Tenzou asked. "I mean, what's with the outfit?"

Genma shrugged. "He says training, we say:  _whatever_. Gai's a little eccentric, but you'll get used to it. He's a good guy."

Tenzou frowned. "Why do you say I'll 'get used to it'?"

Hayate cleared his throat. "Hatake-san and he have a, um,  _eternal rivalry_. He hangs around him a lot."

"The rivalry is mostly one-sided," Genma said.

"Ah."

It made sense that Kakashi would be too lazy to really compete in anything.

The three of them were walking through a relatively busy Konoha vendor district, chatting about this and that on their way to the mission meeting. Before they had left for the meeting, Tenzou had taken a quick ten minute shower, using extra soap and shampoo to rid himself of the bar stench Genma had mentioned.

The main headquarters loomed into view after a few blocks of walking. It was a large building, dark beige in color with a red tile roof. Windows, all but a few were shuttered and closed, lined the several floors it had. It was built to look much like the buildings around it.

They entered through the front entrance and Tenzou glanced down the different hallways from the main lobby. Another cute lobby assistant was scribbling away at her mission scroll. She looked up and met his eyes with her own. He gave her a smile, but all she did was drop her gaze to his crotch and laugh quietly to herself. Tenzou blushed brightly, hoping that Hayate and Genma hadn't noticed the silent exchange. If they had, they made no note of it.

After a few moments of filling out paperwork, Hayate and Genma started down the third hallway to the left. Tenzou followed behind. Tenzou was unfamiliar with the general layout inside of the Headquarters but most lower-ranking ninja were. After a couple more turns and stairwells, they reached a long hallway devoid of any people. They gathered around one of the ten tan-colored doors.

Genma looked at Hayate. "405?"

"Same as usual."

Genma knocked and then leaned towards the door. "How many ninja does it take to screw in a light bulb?"

A muffled voice was heard inside, then shuffling, and then the click of a lock turning.

"Just get inside," Raidou muttered. His hair was unruly and he looked washed out. "Make yourselves comfortable. Coffee's in the corner."

Hayate nodded towards the older man in greeting, entering the room as Genma and Tenzou followed behind. He went over to the coffee machine and poured a coffee for himself and then another—most likely one for Genma. One coffee was left black and in the other he added cream and two cubes of sugar. He slid the plain coffee over to Genma's projected seat and took the more flavorful coffee for himself.

"How long you been waiting in here?" Genma asked, sitting down at the chair with his coffee. He pulled the mug towards himself.

"From ten till now. No fighting for it either." Raidou tilted his cup of coffee towards them with a tight smile. He looked even more tired underneath the florescent lights.

Tenzou sat down across from Raidou after pouring himself a cup of water from the water cooler. He didn't bother getting any coffee; he figured it would've only make his headache worse. "It's almost one."

"Our meeting slot was booked for ten-hundred," Hayate said, swirling his coffee with a plastic stirrer.

"And since Kakashi is always late, we need to make sure someone is in here from the booked time until he arrives." Genma twirled a senbon between his fingers, seemingly tired of always having to explain set tradition to the rookie on the squad.

"I'm not following."

Raidou sighed. "You know how those assholes are up in Interrogation. If you're just one minute late to your room, they hunker down with coffee and doughnuts  _just to spite you_."

Genma nodded. "And when you inevitably ask for a glazed piece of heaven, all they say is: 'no doughnut for you, no doughnut for you!'"

"So childish, but it works every single time," Raidou said bitterly.

Genma snorted. "So we all take turns holding down the fort till the Captain shows."

Hayate frowned. "You were supposed to do it this time, but we decided to take it easy on you since we took you drinking last night."

"Thanks," Tenzou said. One half of him was sarcastic about the whole thing while the other was secretly happy he hadn't had to wake up early just to wait around for hours for his team to assemble themselves.

That, and he was not sure if he could have handled the mental torture the interrogators would have put him through.

Doughnuts were… delicious.

* * *

Tenzou wanted to pass out.

The whole team had just spent thirty minutes sitting in the small conference room, doing nothing but twiddling their thumbs around and observing one another.

In those thirty minutes, Tenzou had been able to break up his time into several "fun" categories: five minutes of watching Raidou stare into space, then snap out of his daydream to get more coffee to drink. Then it was ten minutes of watching Genma and Hayate exchange quiet words and bored glances. The rest he had spent counting the tiles along the ceiling, estimating the length of the faint red mark in the corner and wondering when Kakashi would finally show up.

His headache had subsided a little after he had finally caved and drank a cup of coffee. For once, no one had razzed him about something arguably  _unmanly_  he had done. They probably understood the pain of the hangover and had let him wallow in his pain.

He snuck a glance at Raidou. The poor man's eyes were clouded over and his fingers were twitching against his coffee mug. His whole body gave a small jerk and his eyes snapped to Tenzou's.

"What?"

Tenzou wilted. "Nothing, nothing. You, um, look tired."

Raidou looked like he was about to say something to that but ended up sighing instead. After a few seconds he was back to staring at the oak table. Tenzou took a deep breath and exhaled slowly.

A soft knock at the door alerted them all to a new presence; whoever had snuck up must have masked their chakra signature. Not too soon after the knock a muffled voice spoke up against the door. "How many ninja does it take to screw in a light bulb?"

Tenzou looked around the room, waiting for someone else to get up and unlock the door. When no one moved, he got the message loud and clear. He stood up, giving a sour look to a smirking Genma, and slid the lock open.

Lo and behold, Kakashi was standing on the other side of the door. He was wearing the exact same outfit he had worn to the bar the previous night, Tenzou noted with some incredulity. He wondered, very briefly, if Kakashi ever wore something other than his jounin uniform or his ANBU garb.

"Yo."

"Glad you could make it." Genma said wryly.

Hayate waved his hand in greeting. Raidou nodded his head.

Tenzou gave him a tight smile from the doorway. "You're late."

Kakashi smiled cheerfully from underneath his mask. "And you managed to get home in one piece."

Tenzou shot Kakashi a thinly veiled scowl and stepped aside to let him in to the room. There was only one thing that was keeping his pulsing head screwed on: a focusing mantra. If it were not for having that quiet voice repeating his goals like a broken record, Tenzou was sure he'd have thrown himself off the monument after the very first squad meeting.

Tenzou shut the door behind Kakashi. He plopped down into the nearest seat—which happened to be Tenzou's. There was a distinct seat-stealing trend in the guy.

Tenzou glared at Kakashi's turned back. He got the feeling that Kakashi knew exactly who was sitting in that seat just a few seconds ago. There were plenty of extra chairs in the room and he just  _had_ to pick the one Tenzou had just vacated.

Tenzou marched around the table and sat down in the empty seat next to Raidou. He resisted the urge to fold his arms across his chest because that would have been very immature. At least, more immature than he was willing to be at that moment.

Kakashi gave him a pointed look. "Tenzou?"

Tenzou frowned, looking longingly at his stolen chair. "Yes, sempai?"

"Get me some coffee."

Tenzou gaped at Kakashi's cheerful façade. He couldn't have been serious. Tenzou looked around the room, noting that everyone was looking at him expectantly. He fought down an explicative that was threatening to make it's way out of his mouth and went over to the coffee machine. He poured out a lukewarm cup and left it black.

He placed the cup in front of Kakashi.

Kakashi looked down at the mug. "Where's the cream and sugar?"

Genma laughed quietly to himself and nudged Hayate with his hand. Raidou tried to cover his laughter behind his coffee mug. Kakashi looked pleased with himself.

Tenzou picked the mug up a little more roughly than he should have and coffee sloshed out the side. Thankfully, the liquid was no longer scalding. He topped the mug off again and wiped down the wet sides with a napkin. He could hear faint snickering behind him and he rubbed the mug with all the more vigor. He added what he thought was enough creamer. He contemplated dumping in the whole tray of sugar cubes before remembering that he needed to play nice.

He half-turned around to ask, "One cube or two?"

Kakashi yawned. "Make it two."

Tenzou gritted his teeth. He plopped in two cubes of sugar as reluctantly. He then turned around, balancing the coffee carefully with one hand, and handed it to Kakashi.

No one said anything for a long moment.

Tenzou cleared his throat. "Well?" He gestured vaguely to the coffee.

"Hm?" Kakashi blinked.

"The coffee," he said slowly. "Are you going to drink it?"

"Mm, no. I don't like coffee."

Everyone, including Hayate, erupted into laughter around him.

Tenzou was torn between huffing and sputtering and melting into his chair.

Hayate looked a touch regretful. "I should have warned you."

Tenzou refused to make eye contact with any of them.

"Quit moping," Raidou said.

"We could always beat you senseless if you preferred that type of icebreaker," Kakashi suggested lightly.

Genma sighed. "Ladies, please, can we get on with this meeting?"

The atmosphere changed at once. Hayate, whom Tenzou had no doubts about his work ethic, had stood up and proceeded to arrange all the needed materials. Even Genma, who seemed to rank just a little below Kakashi in avoiding responsibility, became involved.

Kakashi himself had shifted from looking like he would rather be far, far away, tanning at the beach with a cool drink in his hand, to paying rapt attention to the proceedings.

The whole business was very boring so it came as a relief that, after only twenty minutes, Tenzou was sent out to get more parchment for writing. When he came back to the room, Kakashi was leaning against the back counter and Raidou was running a hand through his hair in agitation. Genma and Hayate looked frustrated with one another.

_Jeez, what did I miss?_

Scrolls, pens, and strategy boards were lying around the room and intel scrolls were stacked anywhere they could fit. The blueprints of the daimyo's house were scattered around the room or tacked to the walls and scribbled on with different colored markers. It amazed Tenzou that, in only twenty minutes, it looked as if a small bomb had exploded within the room.

Tenzou laid the fresh batch of papers on to the table. For a lack of a better opening line he said, "Paper?"

"I think we're almost done here, actually," Raidou said after a moment.

"Do you need me to take these away," Tenzou said bracingly.

Kakashi shook his head. "Don't worry about it. Where are the books?"

"Right here." Raidou lifted a stack of books that were hidden somewhere underneath the blueprints and empty coffee mugs and dumped them beside the blank papers Tenzou had just put down. They were plain looking books.

Tenzou was suddenly overcome with a very bad feeling.

"These are the regulation books. It's mostly in code, except for a few pages here and there, so you'll need to translate it." Raidou leafed through the top few pages. "You scored pretty well in that section of the written test, so this shouldn't be too difficult."

Tenzou looked at the pile of books with horror—there were at least ten of them. They were leaving tomorrow, he thought. The chances of him getting all of it translated by then were very slim. He'd have to forego sleep if he even wanted a chance of completing the task.

Hayate shuffled some papers. "Back to the meeting, please."

Genma tapped the blueprints that were hung up on the wall with his senbon. "These are the most recent building plans we could filch from the daimyo's house." He motioned to a rough sketch. "This is the appearance of the buildings that were sketched his morning."

Although the blueprints and the rough sketch had many similarities, they varied enough for Tenzou to really see the problem the Hokage had been talking about during their earlier brief. With the daimyo constantly destroying and rebuilding, it had made it at least ten times more difficult to waltz in and stab.

"Our main focus should be on the forest surrounding the buildings." Raidou said, drawing a clean circle on the blueprints.

"If we need more cover, I can handle that," Tenzou said.

Everyone paused.

"I can make… um… trees," Tenzou explained feebly. He had assumed they knew the scope of his abilities.

Raidou continued after a beat. "All we need is a good vantage point to scope out the daimyo's movements. What about security?"

Hayate shuffled through a stack of papers. "They are hired hands. Intel says they are second-class, but we can't rule them out completely."

"Genjutsu will be our best defense," Kakashi said.

"If construction is going on twenty-four-seven, we'll need a diversion, too." Genma picked at his teeth with his senbon, thinking hard.

"Another genjutsu?" Raidou looked at Kakashi.

Kakashi shook his head. "Let's try a simple distraction. Raidou can set up explosives here—" he touched a side of the building that looked very much under construction, "—stage a construction accident."

Raidou crossed his arms. "I'll pick the location of the boom-tags when get eyes on the ground. I'm not sure how accidental I can make an explosion look, but we can try."

Genma frowned. "They asked for the hit, why don't we give them a show?"

The entire team turned towards Kakashi, waiting for his official word. A minute passed with them watching Kakashi cross an arm over his chest and stroke his masked chin with his fingers.

"Genma's right. Being flashy is not a real problem," Kakashi said finally. "We should still tread carefully. Fire Country  _has_ accused another country of an assassination when it was Fire Country itself that had ordered the axe."

"Conspiracy theories again?" Raidou asked.

Hayate looked puzzled. "You don't think they're trying to…"

Trying to what? Tenzou thought, hoping that Hayate would continue on with his train of thought.

Kakashi shrugged. "Raidou distracts construction. Genma and Hayate take care of the security. I'll hang back with radio command and backup."

Genma raised an eyebrow in Tenzou's direction. "And the rookie?"

Kakashi smiled. "Forward deployed into the building."

Tenzou blinked. He couldn't have heard him correctly. Tenzou crossed his arms over his chest defensively. "I'm going in?"

"Yes."

He wanted to ask why, but kept his mouth shut. Kakashi seemed to read his mind, however, and pointed to his own chest. "Squad captain." He pointed to Tenzou. "Subordinate."

Tenzou glared at the finger.

For the first time since they'd met, Kakashi looked very stern. "You have been assigned your role and you will take it without question."

Tenzou could feel the blood slowly drain from his face. It was a true fact. It was also very embarrassing to be reminded of such. He wasn't sure how much more of this maltreatment he could take.

"I understand," Tenzou said. He met Kakashi's gaze with his own and the very face of contempt stared back. Tenzou couldn't have felt further away from this squad members then he did at that very moment. He didn't care how highly everyone spoke of Hatake Kakashi. Kakashi didn't seem to like (or tolerate) Tenzou at all, no matter what setting they were in. It was one thing to throw a jab here and there—Tenzou was the "new guy", after all—but this seemed almost personal.

"Unless there are any last words, I suppose this meeting is finished." Hayate slipped several papers into a manila folder.

"Where are we meeting?" Genma picked up a folder and peaked inside.

"Twenty-two hundred, West Gate." Hayate cleared out the room with a simple space-time bending jutsu; all the blueprints and scattered mess popped away in a puff of smoke. The codebooks and a few folders were left on the table.

Tenzou knew exactly where the West Gate was. He had spent countless hours on guard duty in the West towers. He picked up his own little folder, nearly crumpling it in his anger.

Raidou ran a tired hand down his scarred cheek. "That's it, Captain?"

"Yup," Kakashi said, already on his way out the door.

Tenzou watched him leave, wondering what drugs he had been taking when he had made the decision to join ANBU.


	5. A Cat's Whiskers

Tenzou tapped his forehead repeatedly with his handbook translator.

His brain was fried.

It had been an hour since the meeting had adjourned. Although his headache had disappeared, other lingering impairments of the alcohol he could certainly feel remained. Namely, the impairment of his mental functions. Even with a  _highly classified_  translator at his side, getting through one page of the codebook had taken him thirty minutes.

Tenzou was fast to think on his feet. He might not have been the most intelligent ninja that had ever lived, but even a half-witted genin could have plowed through most of the Welcome to TOP SECRET! Introduction Part I without too much trouble.

He sighed and pulled the codebook he had been reading onto his lap. He pushed the rest of the books further away from him, just in case they were the reason he wasn't able to concentrate.

After several minutes of reading (and re-reading) the first paragraph without absorbing anything, he realized his efforts were fruitless. Although he had until ten tomorrow to finish translating, he knew it would be a waste of time. He still needed to take a trip to the library to figure out what the "Fire Five" had to do with anything. He stared outside his window. It was another beautiful day in Konoha and he was stuck inside.

There were very few things Tenzou regretted in his life. Of course, there were always those  _minor_ regrets. Like drinking too much or not checking the bottom of his shoes for toilet paper after using the bathroom.

As for a major regrets—well, if he moped over every horrible thing that had happened to him, he would have been perpetually depressed. He had learned at an early age to simply roll with the punches and it usually worked in his favor. While he hadn't been an overly optimistic or enthusiastic child, he had always kept a thread of hope tucked somewhere in his flak jacket.

There were very few ninja he had met that had had genuinely happy pasts or happy presents. Especially in this generation. It had taken Tenzou many years to adjust and live his life as normally as he could.

He never knew his parents. The only mentor he'd had was a teacher that enjoyed putting him through rigorous tests of the body and mind. His only childhood friends were a super geek ninja and a girl that took all of his comments the wrong way. Yumi and Daisuke were alright in his book, but for all the years that they had been teammates, they were no closer than acquaintences to Tenzou.

The doorbell rang twice and Tenzou started so hard he dropped the book on the floor. The doorbell rang three more times in a quick, annoying succession.

"Hey Tenzou!"

"Daisuke," he said. "I swear I changed the deadbolt this time. How did you get in?"

Daisuke pushed his glasses up on the bridge of his nose. "Did you know that thieves usually check underneath potted plants outside doorways for house keys?"

Tenzou closed his eyes. "Was my hiding place really that obvious?"

Daisuke sat down at the kitchen table across from him. "I've known you for years. You aren't that clever."

"Excuse me?"

"Oh! I meant you're… uh, not that clever with the small things." Daisuke laughed nervously.

Tenzou picked the book off the ground and tossed it back on the table. It landed with a very loud thud. There was no way he would get any work done now. He squinted at Daisuke's shirt. "What happened to you?"

"I forgot to get Yumi those little freebie cards you get with flowers," he explained, picking at clean cut across the side of his shirt.

Tenzou nodded knowingly. His old teammates had been dating for a while now. He gestured to the books. "I'm kind of busy right now. I'm going on a mission soon and I need to work."

"Well, I just wanted to stop by and see what you were up to. I left a few messages for you, but you're awful at getting back to me." Daisuke shrugged, already getting ready to leave. "We haven't had a D and N game in forever."

Tenzou smiled. Despite the flare of annoyance he felt whenever Daisuke was around, his goofy ex-teammate was a welcomed respite from his new ones. "Yeah, maybe next week..."

"Sure," Daisuke said.

"Hey… maybe you can help me with figuring out these little symbols? I can't think right now," Tenzou said, a spark of inspiration lighting up inside of him.

Daisuke opened one of the books on the table. He flipped through a few pages. He looked puzzled for a moment then his eyes widened in awe. "Wow. This is…"

"We're friends, right?"

Daisuke looked like he hadn't ever considered that question before. "Sure, yeah. Why?"

"And you can keep a secret."

"I keep telling you that that's practically my job at the Tower."

"I got accepted into ANBU."

Tenzou had expected Daisuke to gasp or show some shock—it wasn't every day that your teammate was promoted to the ranks of ANBU. However, Daisuke looked like Tenzou had just told him that grass was green or that the sky was blue.

"That's old news, man. Sensei already told me and Yumi."

Tenzou gaped at him. "Come on. He never tells  _me_ anything."

"You're his favorite student! At least let us have the crumbs."

"Whatever." Tenzou slumped in his seat. Another flash of inspiration hit him then and he perked up at once. "Do you know anything about the Fire Five?"

Daisuke screwed his face up. "Yeah…"

Tenzou leaned forward.

"The Fire Country Five are the most important Feudal Lords. They are the high Lords—they own the most land, control import and export… they sit in politics or have a hand behind them… jeez, don't you remember reading any of this in class?"

"Obviously not," Tenzou said tersely, "if I'm asking you…"

"Well… the big deal is their rings. They're called the Seals because the five rings have a different character and mark, completely unique and impossible to imitate. All you need is some wax and the real ring to pass along a document as a legitimate and true Fire Country mandate. And when the five Seals are together…"

"You can declare war without the Counsel's permission," Tenzou recited.

Tenzou frowned, suddenly withdrawn into his own mind. Had Kakashi been implying earlier during the brief that someone might have been trying to instigate some sort of war? Their job was to retrieve the ring from the daimyo and dispose of him. Why else would the counsel need to ring back for safe-keeping? To keep the daimyo from being blackmailed by thugs into agreeing to go to war?

"Spooky stuff, huh?" Daisuke said.

Tenzou grimaced. "Not as spooky as these books are… how do you feel about lending me your brain?"

* * *

Translating the tomes had taken Daisuke and Tenzou most of the afternoon. Daisuke had left a half hour before and Tenzou had started to feel lonely soon after. He had pushed out his new revelations to the back of his mind. There was no point in speculating on speculations.

The only thing he had left to do was laundry and thus he set out to complete this task.

He shouldered his laundry bag. It took some finesse to effectively lock his door (since it always jammed and Tenzou was near certain the landlord had given him the wrong set of keys), but he had been living in this apartment for so long that it only took a few seconds of jimmying to get it to turn closed.

No one in the apartment building seemed to be around. As far as he knew, no one else living here was a ninja. Or perhaps everyone was a ninja as he rarely saw anyone coming or going. Tenzou trotted down the stairs two at a time. He turned the corner and was caught full force in the chest by a very wrinkled hand.

"Tenzou, how nice to see you!" His senile landlord was beaming up at him. He had a three year old newspaper clutched in his other hand.

"Good morning, Kimura-san," Tenzou wheezed out weakly.

"Going on a mission today?" Kimura-san asked lightly.

Tenzou tugged the strap of his bag further up on his shoulder. "No, Sir. I'm, uh, actually doing my laundry."

The older man paid the reply no heed. "Oh ho! You know, I used to be a ninja too." He slapped his knee and barked in laughter.

"Really?" Tenzou didn't really see how that was funny but chuckled along to humor the old man.

"Yes, I was. Ha! Wouldn't have guessed, eh?"

_No, I can believe it alright._  As much as he would have loved to spend more time with his favorite senile landlord, there were things he just had to do.

"I need to be going now… beat the Laundromat rush and all," he said. "I'll see you later, Kimura-san."

"Mm, yes, see you. Next month's rent is due on the fifth. Don't forget or I'll send my grandson after you!"

Tenzou nodded and continued down the street. He took a deep breath. The air was cool and crisp. The sun was just barely setting over the horizon.

He entered the Laundromat. It was deserted. A few washers and dryers were turned on and rumbling. Tenzou pursed his lips. The basics of laundry he knew, but had to admit he felt more intimidated by it than most S-ranked criminals he'd come by.

Tenzou looked up at the menacing washing machine and sent it a look that demanded it spill its secrets. Clearly not impressed with his intimidation tactics at all, the machine remained silent.

"This really can't be so hard," he muttered quietly to himself.

He scooped up his pile of whites and dumped it into the open door of the washing machine. The lid snapped down with a bang. He looked around nervously. He patted the surface of the washing machine, thankful that no one was around to see him abuse the machines.

"Clothing in. Detergent next." He picked up the box labeled 'detergent' and poured the grainy stuff into the slot labeled… well, 'detergent.' The exact amount that needed to go in was a mystery to him, but he thought it best to over-add than to under-add. Extra suds couldn't hurt; his clothes were especially grimy due to his night of drinking. He tilted the box back to stop the grain flow and peered into the detergent slot.

_Looks normal._

He poured the liquid softener into its designated spot. Once again he wasn't sure how much to add but estimated that a capful would do the trick.

He slid three coins into the coin slot and turned the setting knob to 'regular wash'. Tenzou frowned—they had raised the price!

He heard the coins hit the bottom of the money catcher and the machine gave a groan and began to shake. When Tenzou was satisfied it wouldn't explode, he took a step back to admire his handiwork. He crossed his arms over his chest, feeling very accomplished.

"You're just a regular domestic, aren't you?"

A horrible chill ran up and down Tenzou's spine. "I just can't catch a break, can I?"

"Mm?"

A few meters across from him, at another washing machine, stood who was quickly becoming the bane of Tenzou's existence. Kakashi slouched lazily against the machine with that orange book held up to his nose. A beige laundry basket sat atop the washing machine was behind him. From what Tenzou could see, the clothing were carbon copies of what Kakashi was currently wearing.

Kakashi raised an eyebrow. "Yes?"

"What are you doing here?"

Kakashi lowered his book a fraction of an inch. The look of ' _are you stupid?_ ' was clearly written across his partially masked face.

Tenzou rolled his eyes. "No—I mean, I know why you're here. I've been using this place for years now and I've never seen you in here before."

"You can stop talking now," Kakashi said plainly.

Tenzou exhaled sharply. "Right."

He leaned back against the wobbling washing machine. This was awkward, he thought. He cleared his throat and attempted to look anywhere but his new squad captain. Ten minutes of tortured silence passed before he spoke again. "Are you actually going to do laundry?"

Kakashi glanced at him. "Yes."

"But you've been standing there for ten minutes," he pointed out.

"Is working at the Laundromat your side job?"

"I didn't mean… nevermind." The only thing that repeated in his mind was: play nice. He didn't need Kakashi to have another reason to be hostile tomorrow.

Another ten minutes passed with Kakashi reading his novel and Tenzou tapping his foot against the washer.

Kakashi sighed and lowered the book to his side. "Is the laundry lady here?"

"She wasn't in when I got here."

"Mm."

Another five minutes passed and then Kakashi began to fiddle with his laundry basket. Tenzou wanted to gloat. It seemed to him that the great Hatake finally showed a weakness.

"You can't do laundry, can you?"

It looked like it pained Kakashi to admit it but he said, "No, not really."

Tenzou smiled, an almost evil plan unfolding in front of him. The moment was a perfect chance to strike.

"I can, um, show you?" he suggested lightly.

"I saw how much detergent you put into that machine," Kakashi said suspiciously.

"I assure you that that is the normal amount, sempai," he said tightly.

Kakashi weighed his options. Finally he said, "Mm, alright."

Tenzou pushed off the washing machine and went over to Kakashi's. Much to his disbelief, nearly all of Kakashi's clothing consisted of the color black. Everything else was navy blue or maroon in color.

"Normally you separate the whites from the colors." He explained as if he were the laundry master. "But you don't have anything to separate… so."

Kakashi nodded along while Tenzou dumped the clothing into the washing machine. He closed the lid.

"And then you add the detergent." Tenzou looked around for the box.

"I left mine at home."

"Figures you would."

Tenzou decided to be nice and gave Kakashi some of his own. He handed the box to Kakashi, who dumped a handful into the slot.

"Softener?"

"I left that too."

Tenzou almost rolled his eyes.

After pouring in a capful of softener, Tenzou held out an expectant palm.

"Need your fortune told?" Kakashi asked innocently.

"Maybe later." Tenzou clenched his hand into a fist. "It takes three coins for the washing machine. Did you leave them at home too?"

"Actually, I do have money." Kakashi reached into his pocket and then pulled it out slowly. He held up an empty palm for Tenzou to inspect. "But I can't turn down your offer."

Tenzou gritted his teeth. "My offer?"

"Yeah. To pay."

"I didn't say I would pay."

"I thought I saw a pattern in our conversation." Kakashi shrugged. "I leave something at home, you cover for me."

"Unbelievable." Tenzou dug through his pockets for a few coins he could spare. He put the coins into the slot and slid the regulator knob to the hot, heavy duty tab.

"You owe me," he said sternly.

Kakashi's visible eye crinkled. "Mmhm."

Tenzou had a feeling he would never see get money back again, especially after what he was planning to do. If he were lucky, Kakashi wouldn't notice that his shirts were tiny, shrunken versions of their former selves until Tenzou was home. He tapped his thumb against the top of the washing machine feeling very pleased with himself.

Kakashi opened his novel and tugged out a bookmark. "The squad is meeting up at a tea house today," he said casually.

"Oh." Tenzou's shoulders slumped. "Great."

"You're invited, moron."

" _Oh._ " Tenzou perked up. "Do you all spend a lot of time together?"

Kakashi half shrugged. "You could say that."

"Huh. That's nice."

"Hmm…"

"Yeah, it's kind of heartwarming," Tenzou said petulantly.

"You are really annoying."

"Thanks," Tenzou replied with a smarmy grin.

Kakashi turned away from him then, pretending to be very engrossed in his novel.

Tenzou sighed sadly and put Kakashi's machine on a regular cold wash. He didn't have to heart to ruin Kakashi's clothes now.

Maybe next time…

* * *

It was an hour later, with all clothing washed, dried and folded when Kakashi and Tenzou left the Laundromat.

Somehow Kakashi had managed to talk Tenzou into carrying his laundry basket. The conversation had happened so fast that Tenzou had been left dazed and confused. He'd tried his best to avoid his captain after initially showing him how to start his laundry, but he just couldn't escape fast enough.

Now they were walking through the streets of Konoha together, heading to an aforementioned teahouse. Kakashi refused to give him directions when Tenzou had asked. Tenzou assumed it was out of fear of him dumping the extra clothing into a dumpster and running.

Why he had decided to tag along, he wasn't entirely sure. He didn't mind the company of his other three teammates, but Kakashi was definitely not in his good graces at the moment. He looked down at the extra laundry in his arms.

As they passed by a melon vendor, Tenzou caught sight of jarring orange legwarmers. He was about to grab Kakashi's arm and yank him into a nearby alley for cover, but Gai spotted them.

He waved to the pair. Tenzou nodded his head politely as his hands were occupied carrying all the laundry. Kakashi didn't acknowledge his eternal rival at all.

"Good morning, Kakashi!" He nodded his head towards Tenzou. "And it's a pleasure to see you well, youthful shinobi!"

Tenzou wanted to groan. This guy's enthusiasm was so over the top.

"Why do you carry a laundry basket?"

"It's a long story," Tenzou said. He wasn't in the mood to explain.

"No matter! I passed by Genma and Hayate on my way for sustenance." Gai waved a slice of salted watermelon in the air. "They asked if I had seen you."

"Mm, thanks." Kakashi nodded his head and continued down the street.

Tenzou lagged behind with Gai. "Hey, thanks for last night. You didn't to… accept Kakashi's challenge."

Gai grinned. The light glinted off his canine almost painfully. "I have never turned down a challenge from my eternal rival yet."

"Well, I'm still sorry you got dragged into doing that."

Gai clapped him on the shoulder and pointed the melon slice between his eyes. "We do things in our youth which we should not. And there is no need to apologize for youth."

"Yeah, sure." Tenzou smiled faintly. He was beginning to see why Kakashi didn't pay this guy much attention.

Gai gave him another wide grin and they parted ways.

Tenzou jogged to catch up with Kakashi. He noticed that the street vendors were beginning to thin out, giving way for larger shopping establishments and restaurants.

Kakashi turned in to a small restaurant. Tenzou followed. The inside was cozy, clean and well-lit, with several booths and tables spread out across the floor in no particular pattern.

Besides a pair of businessman sitting at a table, three figures sat in the booth in the back. Tenzou recognized them as his new teammates.

Raidou was the first to catch sight of the approaching pair. "You two are late."

Hayate checked his watch. "By only ten minutes actually."

Kakashi shrugged. "What can I say? I must be turning a new leaf."

"We wish, Hatake. We wish." Genma laughed, shaking his head.

"What's with the laundry basket?" Raidou asked.

Tenzou dropped the basket to the ground and kicked it underneath the booth. "Long story."

Raidou nodded slowly like he had already caught on. "Right."

The occupants of the booth arranged themselves to fit their new guests.

"Mae broke up with me yesterday," Raidou said.

Everyone broke into murmurs of sympathy at once. Tenzou joined in, although not sure what to say exactly. He'd never had a steady girlfriend to break up with, but he was sure it wasn't a pleasant feeling.

Genma looked grim. "It's better this way, man."

"I know. But she was a perfect ten _._ "

"Can you perform your duties?" Hayate asked.

"I got  _dumped_." Raidou scowled. "I didn't have my balls ripped off."

"Yeah, you did." Kakashi smirked. "She just gave them back to you."

Genma snorted. "Still need to get 'em stitched back on, eh?"

Raidou laughed. "You guys are assholes."

Tenzou couldn't have agreed more.

* * *

Tenzou propped his chin on his palm and watched his teammates talk.

"I still need to pack my equipment," Raidou said. "My order for explosives are back ordered."

"Just show some muscle around the HQ," Genma replied. "Works like a charm."

"I prefer to keep my title of 'not an asshole', thanks."

"You're missing out."

Tenzou sighed. The hours passed by faster than he could have imagined.

The patrons for dinner had already come and gone until they were almost the last ones at the tea house.

It was the first time where he felt completely at ease with his new teammates. Although he'd mostly listened, he had given his insight on several topics.

Their first outing really didn't do the team chemistry any justice. Their squad couldn't have been together very long, but they interacted like old friends. Tenzou supposed it had something to do with spending so much time on missions together.

Cramming their complex personalities into a small sentence, Tenzou summed them up: Hayate was the rational thinker; Raidou was the mature leader-type; Genma was the ego. Their worth as shinobi was unquestionable, but each had a different style that complemented the other.

The only one that didn't entirely fit with the team was Kakashi. But after spending more time with the team, Tenzou realized his captain's cool detachment rounded out the personalities of the other three members.

Tenzou wondered how  _his_ personality would work with ANBU Squad # 024. At first he thought his assignment was purely by cruel fate, but looking back on the gennin team formations, it seemed like more consideration went into picking out teams than he'd thought.

He took a sip from his green tea and almost let it dribble back in to the cup. It was cold.

Tenzou glanced at the increasingly animated conversation between Genma and Raidou. Hayate was listening in and Kakashi had his elbows propped up on the tabletop. His novel obscured the rest of his face.

"No, man, I  _really_  need to go."

"Where's the rush?"

For the past hour, Raidou had been trying to convince Genma that he needed to leave. Each time, Genma would somehow find a way to keep Raidou glued to his seat. His first jab was warning Raidou to keep away from his ex-girlfriend. A memorable argument ensued after that.

Hayate, always the voice of reason, spoke up. "He's right, Genma. We need to get rest."

Tenzou nodded his head. "We've been here for hours. The restaurant owner has been giving us the evil eye since we paid."

"I'll leave an extra tip," Kakashi said.

Everyone gaped at him. Tenzou assumed it was the first time they had heard Kakashi offer to pay for anything.

Kakashi shrugged. "We come here enough and I don't like spit in my food."

They all slid out of the booth, making sure to offer polite gestures towards the chef and waiters for putting up with their hours-long attendance. Once they got outside, Raidou disappeared in a quick blur—most likely off to pick up the explosives he was complaining about earlier.

Tenzou assumed Genma and Hayate would leave together and Kakashi would make his exit in a poof of smoke. He still needed to take a quick nap, double check his equipment, and fold clothing.

Genma paused. "I have a feeling we're forgetting something."

Hayate's head tilted up, as if he suddenly realized something. "The uniform."

Genma glanced at Tenzou. "I'll catch up with you guys later."

He slipped away into the street, apparently having filled his quotas of rookie handholding for the week. Tenzou couldn't blame him.

"The uniform?" Tenzou asked, shifting his bag of laundry to the other shoulder.

"You need to get your uniform from HQ," Hayate explained. "I should have stayed behind after the briefing. I don't usually forget…"

"It's alright," Tenzou said. "I can just go to headquarters myself. I know where we're at, it should only be a few minutes from here."

"They don't just hand out uniforms to any moron with a headband." Kakashi flipped to the next page in his book.

Hayate cleared his throat and explained, "Kakashi has the keys to the main gear closet." A silent ' _I think it is in everyone's best interest that I act as a buffer between you two'_  lingered in the air. He cleared his throat.

Kakashi paused, and then made a very gentlemen-like sweeping gesture towards the street. "After you."

Tenzou rolled his eyes and followed after Hayate. He could practically feel Kakashi's hot ego tagging along a few meters behind.

"We're allowed to give you a new suit, but not new guards. So we need to find you guards that fit," Hayate explained. "Until you're off probation, you won't have a set made specifically for you."

Tenzou winced. No one ever told him he would have to wear smelly, how-many-years old chest guards. Looking back on the gym equipment they had to play with in the Academy, Tenzou had a feeling he would be wearing some ancient stuff.

"Hand-me-down uniforms," he said hollowly. He wondered how they even  _got_ hand-me-down ANBU uniforms.

"Don't underestimate them," Hayate said. "They are in good condition. The guards are made of a special light-weight metal alloy. It doesn't rust and doesn't nick very easily."

"What's the impact?" Tenzou asked.

"It can withstand a kunai thrown as far as twenty feet away."

"Not bad. You seem to know a lot about it."

"It's a family business."

Tenzou nodded his head. "Right."

The walk to the headquarters was a quiet affair. It was a simple task of following behind Hayate and trying to look inconspicuous with a laundry basket and laundry bag.

After leading them through another long pathway of twists and turns and stairwells Hayate finally stopped at another inconspicuous door. The sign that hung on the door read 'janitor's closet'.

Kakashi dipped a free hand into the large pocket of his flak jacket and pulled out a set of keys. He jingled them around, trying to find the right key for the door. After a few minutes of the grating tinkling noise, he handed the set of keys to Hayate. "I always forget if it's red or blue."

Hayate sighed. He flipped through the hefty roll of keys and lifted up a single one to Kakashi's line of vision. A colored piece of rubber covered the circular end of it. "It's green, actually."

"Right, right." Kakashi waved his hand and went back to reading.

Hayate slid the key into the lock and wiggled it back and forth until it slid open. He turned the knob and pushed the door open, pulled out the key and walked in. Kakashi went in second. Tenzou looked left and right down the hallway before following.

He closed the door behind him and they were suddenly thrown into darkness.

Tenzou blinked.

"You might want to look for something now." A voice, Kakashi's, said blandly.

He could hear Hayate's distinct cough somewhere to his right.

Glad that it was dark enough to hide his angry flush, Tenzou patted the wall beside the door where light switches were normally found. He found the plastic panel and flicked the switch up. The room was bathed in harsh fluorescent light.

Once the black spots cleared from his vision, he found he was looking upon rows and rows of lockers. The 'janitor closet', while it looked to be a small, cramped room from the outside, stretched on for quite a ways. Hayate was already opening several metal lockers, sighing quietly here and there. Kakashi, in his usual fashion, appeared to be paying no attention.

"What size pants do you wear?" Hayate asked.

"Uh, 28 by 34."

"Shirt?"

"Medium?"

"These ought to do." Hayate threw him a bundle of navy blue fabric.

Tenzou tucked the uniform under his arm.

Hayate went back to digging through a locker, laying out an array of weapons along a low bench in the middle of the room. Eventually he pulled out a set of guards and handed them to Tenzou.

Unlike the crummy condition of the Academy equipment, these hand-me-down guards looked to be brand new. The chest guard was a dull silver color and almost scratch-free. True to Hayate's previous words, they very light. Tenzou could hardly believe that the chest guard was made from metal. In fact, it felt more like heavy cloth.

"These are great," Tenzou said.

Hayate smiled faintly. "Kakashi has the last piece… it's tradition that the Captain chooses your mask."

"Here," Kakashi said.

Pearl white, accented in traditional blood red, was a cat's face.


	6. A Lesson in Explosives

His uniform was spread out on the bed. A small-weapons pouch filled with throwing stars and kunai sat beside it. A gleaming katana that he hadn't used in months lay beside that. There wasn't much else that he had to bring with him, save for rations and a medical kit. A pouch that was big enough to hold both was up on his dresser.

The projected length of the mission would be a day or two at most—the travel there, the kill and then the trek home. Still, he had to make sure Bucket would make it comfortably. It had been hard to make friends in his apartment building because of his work, coupled with the fact that he hardly ever saw anyone around. He had to rely on either Daisuke or Yumi to take care of this place.

"Hey, buddy." He scratched behind the cat's ears, trying and failing to hide the warm tone in his voice. "I'll only be gone for a few days. You're going to miss me, aren't you?"

Bucket meowed.

Tenzou cuddled the feline to his chest. "The feeling is mutual."

He dropped Bucket to the ground, who shot straight away out of the room. He was probably off to find one of Tenzou's favorite things to scratch up in protest of all the cuddles.

Tenzou picked up the pants, marveling at how such a small-looking piece of clothing would be able to fit him.

_It's looked like a leotard._

"But it's a  _cool_  leotard," he amended with a nod.

Getting the pants on was slightly more difficult than he thought. Not because he had told Hayate the wrong numbers (obviously) but because they were so  _god damn_ tight. Once the pants were tugged up to his waist he shrugged into the shirt. Pulling it down was a challenge but, after a few minutes of wrestling with the hem, it finally slid down.

He slipped the chest guard over his head. As promised it added a pounds to his frame but he felt very normal otherwise. He clipped the shin and arm guards on afterwards.

Tenzou tied the pouches around his hips and attached the katana to his the strap around his back. He picked up his mask and slid it over his face.

He stared at his reflection in the mirror. It was hard to suppress his smile or the glowing pride he felt growing in his chest. The plain-looking teenager that normally stared back at him had been replaced with Konoha's most deadly killer.

With his door already bolted and locked and the spare key given to Daisuke, he slid his window open and crawled out. He perched at the lip; one hand gripped the top of the frame while the other slid the window shut. He dropped onto the awning of the tiled roof below.

The West Gate was a fifteen minute jog away from his apartment. He had worked countless double-shifts there. It was his least favorite Gate to be stationed, although it was for no particular reason.

A low moon hung in the sky. It was partially covered by clouds. Only the brightest of the stars shined tonight. Tenzou noted the extra moisture in the air that warned of a coming spring shower. Hopefully he and the team would be far enough away to escape the brunt of it.

He swung up from some scaffolding and landed in a crouched position a little ways away from the Gate. A small group of ANBU were gathered around the checkpoint. He recognized the masks of his teammates but, as expected, Kakashi was not among them. Tenzou leapt down to the street. He should have stayed home a little while longer—waiting hours for his lazy captain was not something he wanted to do in a revealing, skintight uniform.

A masked Genma waved him over. Raidou was crouched by the wall and Hayate stood off to the side with his arms crossed over his chest. All of them wore the exact same uniform he did. The only thing they had that he lacked was the ANBU tattoo spiraling around their shoulders. He rubbed at the untouched skin of his arm absentmindedly.

Genma popped him in the shoulder.

Tenzou winced. "When does the Captain usually show up?"

"It depends on the mission." Hayate coughed into his fist; it was a useless gesture as his face was covered from view. It must have been a habit.

Genma shrugged. "I have five dollars on an hour."

"Thirty minutes for me," Raidou said sheepishly.

Tenzou turned to look at Hayate.

"Eh. I bet an hour and a half."

Tenzou smiled. "Put me down for fifteen minutes..."

Genma laughed and twirled a senbon between his fingers. "That's the least amount of time anyone has ever bet on him."

"Good luck, kid," Raidou said.

For people who seemed to admire Kakashi, they certainly had no sense of optimism when it came to their captain's timeliness. They probably had had the hope beaten out of them by each tick of the clock after the first few weeks of knowing the guy.

Tenzou settled down on a nearby bench and waited for the arrival of their team leader. There wasn't much else to do except to stare up at the sky. He sighed and titled his head back. Stargazing was one habit he used to pass the time when he was stuck outdoors for a nightshift, but the clouds obscured most of them.

"Hey," Genma said, "you have ten seconds till your fifteen minutes are up."

A puff of smoke erupted in their path, revealing none other than Konoha's number one late ninja.

"Sorry I'm late."

Raidou sucked in a breath. "Please tell me that was over fifteen."

Genma reluctantly pocketed his watch. "Sorry."

Raidou groaned and flipped out several bills from his pouch and slapped them into Tenzou's expectant palm.

Tenzou smiled.

"I owe you," Hayate said.

"Ditto," Genma said.

Tenzou pointed a finger at his teammates. "I won't forget."

Kakashi scratched the back of his head. "Making bets again?"

Hayate cleared his throat. "Sorry Captain."

"Yeah, we can't help it," Raidou said.

"It really passes the time." Genma shrugged half-heartedly. "Counting how much money you're going to get… well, it's a lot more fun than you'd expect."

Kakashi sighed. "I'm getting too old for this."

Raidou huffed. "You  _know_ I'm five years older than you."

Genma patted Raidou on the shoulder. "And we're all surprised you haven't broken a hip yet."

"Do you ever have something nice to say?" Raidou said, giving Genma a little shove just for good measure.

Kakashi chuckled. "Yeah, Genma. Respect your elders."

"We're already late," Hayate said. "Let's suit up and go."

He handed Tenzou an earpiece. "For radio contact between our group."

Tenzou slid the earpiece into his ear. He wasn't sure how he would be able to actually speak to everyone since there was no microphone. He tapped the radio twice.

A sharp crackle screeched over the intercom and he yanked it out his ear with a wince.

"Sorry," Kakashi said sheepishly.

Tenzou sent him a sharp glare, knowing the look was lost behind his faced mask.

"We'll have two hour marches with fifteen minute breaks in between." Kakashi said while rest of the team picked up their extra baggage. There wasn't much of it.

Genma gave a low whistle and hoisted his traveling bag over his shoulders. "Not going easy on us, are you?"

Kakashi handed the chuunin on duty the travel pass for inspection. "All of you look like you can use the workout."

Even though there was a teasing tone to his voice, Tenzou still found himself rightfully perturbed. Tenzou might not have been as lanky as Kakashi's uniform revealed him to be, but he certainly was no couch potato. He tugged at the stretchy material of his pants, self-conscious despite himself.

"You're free to go." The chuunin waved them through the gate.

Tenzou tugged at his pouches one last time just to make sure they wouldn't fly off in midair. The image of him making the squad stop halfway to the mansion and then backtracking to pick up his precious weapons popped into his head.

Kakashi adjusted his katana. "We'll go in the usual diamond formation. Whiskers, you're in the back."

"Whiskers?" Tenzou asked.

Genma snickered and Hayate rubbed his temple slowly.

"That's you," Kakashi supplied helpfully. "You never told us what you wanted your codename to be."

With a terrible sinking feeling now in his stomach, Tenzou realized that Kakashi was quite right. He hadn't had the chance to tell the Sandaime what he had in mind, thanks to Kakashi's interruption.

* * *

Two hours of travel had passed uneventfully.

Tenzou landed on a branch with a heavy thump and a split-second later was pushing off with a chakra boost. A sheen of perspiration was starting to break out along his upper lip.

The good news was that the temperature had slowly declined as the night wore on. While it would help with preventing them from overheating, it wasn't necessarily a good thing for his night-time survival. Fire Country never experienced temperatures at the extremes but nighttime in the forest could be unforgiving.

Genma, who was a few feet in front of him to the left, touched his hand to his earpiece. His voice crackled over the intercom. "I spot a clearing."

Kakashi raised a fist—a signal to halt their movements. A second later he stopped his momentum by slamming his feet into a tree branch. It looked painful, but the faint glow of chakra around his sandals indicated it was anything but.

The rest of the squad came to a stop on several branches behind him. Genma leaned up against the trunk of a tree. Either he was starting to become spent or he wanted to look especially cool tonight.

Raidou's chest was rising slightly more rapidly than usual while Hayate tried to be discreet with his coughing. Kakashi looked entirely unfazed by the pace he was setting.

"We'll rest for fifteen and then move for another two hours. After that I'll allow a thirty minute break." Kakashi cracked his knuckles. "We should be where we need to be soon enough."

Genma nodded and dropped down into the clearing below; the squad followed. "Night time ops then?"

"What else?" Kakashi said. He sat down cross-legged against a rock that jutted up from the ground.

Raidou tossed a kunai into the air and caught it on its descent down.

"Canteen?" Genma asked.

Hayate unclipped his water from his side and tossed it towards his teammate.

Tenzou ran a finger down the rough bark of the tree he was leaning against. Although he had jutsus that related entirely to wood, some people (Daisuke) had the misconception that he was the tree equivalent of the horse whisperer. While it was true he did have an affinity for trees, they certainly didn't speak to him.

" _Is it true trees can talk to you?" Daisuke asked._

_Tenzou paused. "Is it true… you were dropped on your head as a child?"_

The foliage had thickened as they swept westward. The forest floor was almost pitch black, peppered here and there by moonlight.

"Fifteen minutes up." Kakashi dusted off some imaginary dirt from his knees.

Genma twisted from the hip and Raidou shook his legs out. Hayate pushed himself up from the ground and pulled a knee to his chest. Apparently fifteen minutes of cooling down after their run had left their muscles a little tight.

Tenzou had to admit he wasn't feeling so hot himself but he didn't make any moves to stretch himself out. He felt Kakashi's gaze lingering on his back and he ignored the strange feeling as best he could.

Tenzou leapt up and swung himself on to the next branch. The move was slightly showier than what he was used to doing. Simple was more his style.

Kakashi materialized on the branch in front of him. He flicked his hand forward. The squad reformed itself into its original shape and continued following behind their captain.

Keeping together was truly an art form, Tenzou had to admit; especially when they had five men that didn't necessarily have matching stamina to work with. Synchronizing the pace to stay in line took a lot more than just looking left and right and forward. There was a certain tie between the five of them that seemed to tug him along in the right direction.

Strangely enough, the feeling reminded him of his genin days.

Considering how annoyingly his old team used to be, Tenzou was sure that nostalgic feeling wasn't necessarily a good sign.

Another two hours flew by as swiftly as the trees they passed.

Kakashi had stopped them for their promised thirty minutes of rest. He had then disappeared into the woods for whatever reason (Tenzou preferred not to fantasize about his Captain's bathroom trips) and had yet to come back.

They stopped by a ring of trees surrounded by a patch of knee-length grass. Genma, Hayate, Raidou and he had chosen to situate themselves in the branches of the trees.

Tenzou shimmied up onto his favorite tree of the clearing and rubbed at his thighs. The thing he hated the most about exertion in the cold was that he always got a strange tingle in his muscles when he was cooling down. He felt relaxed for the first time in the past couple days. He was back in his element—missions and the ninja way.

He jabbed two fingers into his cramping thigh and sighed. Yumi kept telling him to eat more bananas to prevent cramping. He didn't understand women at all. She never seemed to take her own advice since she always complained about getting them every month.

"Watch out for the flesh-eating beetles."

"What?" Tenzou blinked up at his new tree-branch companion.

Kakashi motioned to a little bug was that crawling along the bark next to Tenzou's head. "For someone that has lived in Konoha all his life, you sure don't know much about its friendly woodland creatures."

Tenzou scooted a few inches away from the bug to be safe. He shot Kakashi a deploring look, knowing he was safe to do whatever facial expression he wished underneath the cat mask. "A flesh-eating beetle doesn't seem like a friendly Konoha critter to me."

"Don't say that… you'll hurt its feelings."

Tenzou looked sideways at his new captain.

Kakashi had pulled out his orange colored book and slid his ANBU mask over his head. Somewhere in the boring manuscripts of the codebooks Tenzou had spent so much time agonizing over it specifically mentioned that masks were supposed to remain on for the duration of the mission. Tenzou bristled. Although he wasn't a staunch rule follower, Tenzou had to admit that it was strange to see Kakashi act so carefree.

"Well?" Kakashi said, thumbing through the pages.

Tenzou opened his mouth and then clicked it shut.

"Er… you're not wearing your mask." Tenzou said lamely.

Kakashi sighed slowly. "Your observations astound me. Really."

Tenzou looked away. The ugly flesh-eating bug was getting closer to his hand now. He flicked it away with his forefinger, watching it tumble to the underbrush below.

Tenzou was a very capable shinobi. He graduated at the top of his class and trained with some of the most talented young ninja that had Konoha produced. But whenever Kakashi paid him full attention Tenzou always ended up feeling like a complete dunce.

Tenzou wasn't sure why, but he suspected it had something to do with Kakashi's unflappable cool. Tenzou might have admired it if he didn't decide, right at that moment, that he really, really hated Hatake Kakashi.

* * *

He had been awake for far too long.

No, that wasn't quite right.

He had been awake and  _moving_  for far too long.

There were very few times in Tenzou's life where he admitted to being exhausted. Sometimes he blurted out an "I'm tired!" in order to avoid his sensei's training techniques but otherwise he never spoke up about his fatigue.

But he really had to hand it to Kakashi. The man knew how to put his team through their paces.

No one complained but Tenzou hadn't expected it. At one time he wondered, very briefly, if  _he_  should be the pariah and voice everyone's tired opinions. Genma seemed to catch on to his thinking by then and motioned for him to keep his mouth shut.

It was to no one's surprise that their squad had reached the daimyo's mansion ahead of schedule. The moment they reached their checkpoint (which had been established by previous recon groups) Raidou had broken off to scout for an area for explosives.

Genma and Hayate didn't have to travel nearly as far as Raidou. The pair spread out across the area of the building to scope out the security. If Tenzou looked through the trees at just the right angle he thought he could see a piece of Hayate's katana sticking out from the brush.

Kakashi designated a radio check-in every ten minutes.

Tenzou shifted his weight to his other leg. Both him and Kakashi were standing in the trees above the mansion compound, overlooking and scoping out the area. Tenzou flicked a tiny branch away from his face. They had a four-hour window to complete this mission from this point.

Tenzou pulled the earpiece out of his ear. Kakashi nailed him in the head with a stone not a moment after (where he got a stone up in a tree Tenzou would never know) and motioned for him to put his earpiece back in.

Twenty minutes later, Raidou's voice crackled over the intercom. Tenzou snapped upright and pressed his finger to his ear.

"Everything's ready to go."

"Will you be coming back?" Kakashi asked.

The rustle of static flooded Tenzou's sensitive ears. "I was thinking of being nice and relieving someone on guard duty."

"God, yes,  _please_. It's boring out here," Genma's quieter than usual voice said.

Kakashi laughed quietly. "Nah, you're doing just fine."

"I can switch," Tenzou offered.

Kakashi glanced at him.

"No need." Hayate whispered in a rather bored tone. "I think I've got this place figured out."

Kakashi rubbed at his forehead. "Alright, let's regroup."

"Copy that." A groan. It was Genma. "My legs are stiff as boards."

"Can you be any louder?" Hayate's voice whispered over the line harshly. Some more rustling could be heard over his end and then it went silent.

Tenzou pushed himself into a low crouching position. He could no longer see glimpses of either Genma or Hayate but a clear picture of the mansion was just a little ways down.

Tenzou had never seen so many planks of wood in his life. And considering that he regularly made wood sprout from the ground, that was saying something.

Carpenters hammered away at their stations and scaffolding covered one half of the building. In just two hours, the swarm of workers had erected the foundation that would replace the building they had recently demolished. Several gardens spread out around the area, each having a different theme.

_Is that a koi pond?_

Genma was the first to reappear. After he settled down, he kept flicking his trademark senbon at defenseless trees. "See anything interesting?"

Tenzou shrugged. "If scaffolding tickles your fancy, I suppose I do."

Hayate popped up after a moment and cleared his throat as quietly as he could. "As far as I could tell, the target never stepped outside of the building." He pulled out a rough sketch filled with drawings of stick figures and little clocks.

Genma leaned over the paper and tapped a finger against a relatively ugly looking stick figure. "Yeah, the guards change out every thirty minutes."

Hayate nodded. "Parrot and I will take out the guards at the next switch."

Kakashi touched the earpiece. "Got that, Boomer?"

Raidou's voice crackled over the intercom. "The detonation can be triggered whenever you want, Captain."

"Okay," Kakashi said. "We have twenty minutes until the next guard swap. Lay low till then."

"Got it."

Kakashi hoped over to a branch opposite Tenzou and sat down; he had one leg pulled up to his chest and the other dangling limply over the edge of the branch. He didn't seem to be paying much attention to what was going on around him. The novel he enjoyed in freakish amounts was held up to his face and, with the right lighting, Tenzou thought he could see the glow of his eyes shifting back and forth underneath the ANBU mask. Once again, Kakashi had managed to pull off complete nonchalance perfectly.

Now that he thought about it, Kakashi reminded him of his sensei in a way. Sensei would always give him a quick and painful strike to the back of the neck whenever he did something foolish. And by the time he woke up from the knockout strike, he would be hanging upside down from his ankles in a public place. More often than not, however, he was given a lecture on his defenses to add to the very public humiliation.

But where his sensei's scare tactics were mostly physical, Kakashi seemed to choose the path of verbal berating. And the worst part about it was that it wasn't even  _angry_  down talk. His tone was more often than not bored and sneaky, entirely sarcastic; covered up with a grin and a crinkled eye.

Hayate seemed to think Tenzou's silence was nerves, as he leaned over and whispered, "Keep a cool head and you'll do fine."

Tenzou nodded. "I'm glad someone is on my side."

Hayate cleared his throat. "Well, I'd rather not have to fill out extra paper work if you die..."

"Oh." Tenzou's mouth parted in surprise; new revelations about the true nature of his teammates just wouldn't stop coming it seemed. The two of them used to build small-scale compound buildings with popsicle sticks and glue back in the Academy. Didn't that mean anything to him?

"I'm sure you'll do fine, though," Hayate added awkwardly.

A shiver ran through Tenzou at that precise moment. A sharp wind was beginning to blow over the forest. The bad weather he had predicted for Konoha looked like it was about to hit them, too. It seemed as if they would have to make do without shelter for this mission if rain came anytime soon. Although it could not have been a healthy sign, the thought of leaving Kakashi out in the pouring rain while he slept soundly inside relaxed him.

Kakashi lifted a hand to his radio. "Boomer, it's almost time. Are you sure you're ready?"

Because of their positions higher up in the trees it was easy to see that Raidou was in a squatting position, running a nervous hand through his hair. "I thought so… but, no, it's all wrong. Give me a minute."

Tenzou swallowed thickly. It didn't look like anything was off down there. A ring of tags and seals were spread around in a tight circle in the dirt below and Raidou was tilting his head this way and that way, studying his handiwork.

Tenzou had gone through several difficult courses on these types of jutsus but had only mastered the basics. Raidou looked to be an expert; he lifted his hand up to rub against his neck while he stood up and scuffed the ground with his sandal. A part of the seal circle was covered in dust and he crouched down to redraw it.

Raidou's voice crackled in over the intercom. "It's all fixed."

Kakashi gave them a lazy thumbs-up. "All is go then."

A shot of adrenaline seeped into Tenzou's system.

Hayate looked at Genma. "Ready?"

Genma cracked his knuckles and rolled his shoulders. "Whenever you are."

Hayate turned towards Tenzou. "After we give you the signal, move in."

"Don't waste time either. Get the ring, chop-chop-chop, then get outta there," said Genma. He adjusted his arm guard, gave the group a nod and then he and his partner blurred out of sight.

"When you're inside and nearing the target, give us the signal and Boomer will detonate the scrolls," Kakashi said.

Tenzou gave him a terse nod and peered down into the brush. It was really happening; no longer a strategy meeting or a faint smudge on his mission calendar. His gloved fingers dug into the bark and he felt his body tense up. He dropped in to the clearing.

"Don't get lazy." Kakashi's voice whispered in his ear.

"Hypocrite." The words were out of Tenzou's mouth before he knew what was happening. Kakashi did not reply, but Tenzou had a distinctive feeling he would receive his retribution later.

He settled in between the bushes, focusing his attention on the task at hand, and a feeling of calm washed over him. He looked to Raidou, who was several meters behind him. The older man looked hassled and still unsatisfied with his handiwork. When he caught sight of Tenzou, he gave an uncharacteristic thumbs-up.

Tenzou nodded sharply and turned to look forward once again. He crawled deeper into the brush, duck-walking his way to the very edge, knowing that the darkness and the foliage would cover him from sight completely.

The building was backlit by the moonlight, making it appear much larger and menacing than it was. The lamps from the carpenters who were diligently working away hung around scaffolding and from low-hanging cables. There were three main buildings, wrapped around in a U-shape—an east wing, a west wing and a north wing. The north wing was the longest of the three and the most heavily under construction. It was where Raidou had laid the explosives and would be the source of their distraction.

As much as he tried to peer out into the darkness for a glimpse of Genma and Hayate at work, he couldn't see anything. Then there was a low rustle, several pops, and a scrape in the distance. Only a ninja would have known it sounded suspiciously like a neck breaking and a blade dragging clean across flesh.

For a moment there was perfect silence across the mansion, as if each hammer had lifted up in unison. Tenzou found his chest burning painfully in anticipation.

Genma's voice crackled in over the radio line. "All clear."

"Regroup and meet back up here," Kakashi said after a static-filled moment. "Whiskers, go in."

With a burst of speed, he shot around the outer perimeter of the mansion. Cutting straight across would have been more efficient, but he was weary of calling attention to himself in front of the workers. He had plenty of speed, but even a gust of wind and a faint blur was too suspicious in this windless night.

After bypassing the workers, he slowed down and crept towards the west wing building. He made sure to keep as small as he could, blending in with the shadows and using the light cast off by the lanterns to the best of his advantage. Blending into the shadows wasn't a trait he specialized in, as he usually used a wooden copy of himself for any reconnaissance he had to do. But he was efficient at the basics, he thought, and that was what mattered.

He peered up into the windows of the house, noting that there was no movement from any of them; he didn't have the time or energy to make a search for the daimyo outside. He would have to go in. Luckily he had brought along two friends he could use to search the expanse of the building. He formed a series of familiar seals and then held out his hands, letting two dopplegangers grow out from his palms. A few seconds later and he was staring at two exact copies of himself. He motioned for the first copy to head to the east building and the second to head to the west building. The real Tenzou was going to head up the north building.

The copies flickered out of sight and Tenzou slid around to the front of the building. The main entrance was covered up in scaffolding and he had to fold around the bars to reach the entrance. There was no actual  _door_  blocking his way, just an empty square leading to the main hallway. Hinges of the old door hung off the doorframe in a rather sad way.

Tenzou noted that a bloody handprint was on the doorframe. It looked as if someone had been dragged inside. The back of his neck prickled. Genma and Hayate hadn't been anywhere near the entrance.

He touched his earpiece and whispered. "Kakashi… did you see any movement near the north entrance earlier?"

"No…"

Tenzou clenched his hand. He couldn't make himself bring up the handprint. He was so close… If Kakashi made him turn back around he would never be able to live it down. "Nothing, I… thought I saw something."

He continued through the doorway. A huge iron-wrought staircase wound up to the second floor; the moonlight shone in from the giant window of the foyer. It was enough light that he could make out a faint layer of dust covering the iron casing and the stairs cherry wood steps. A ratty white sheet half-covered a large painting by the stairwell. Tenzou made out the lower half of a man who was standing up, his hand lying on a delicate-looking woman. His index finger had a golden ring on it that matched the description of the seal they were entrusted to retrieve. It must have been a painting of the daimyo and his deceased wife.

He formed a string of seals and focused on the copies that were scouring the house. It took concentration to focus, but nothing of surprise caught his attention from their view. He treaded softly down the unlit hallway, keeping low and pressing close to the walls just in case he needed to throw himself into the nearest open door. The hallway stretched out a long way, almost so far that he could barely make out where it ended.

He heard a rustle to his left. He paused and backtracked to a room he'd just passed, but the room was empty. He spread his chakra out, searching for a sign of life. He felt nothing, but had a disturbing feeling that he wasn't at all alone.

It was at that moment that his first copy alerted him to the daimyo's presence. The east wing it was.

"I got him," he whispered.

"You have one minute."

Tenzou broke into a run.

The explosion went off right as he threw the daimyo's door open. His doppleganger had already melted out of the walls, using its bodies to shield him and the daimyo from the window's shattered glass. The daimyo looked rightfully terrified. The room was alit with a red glow from the fire across the compound. Tenzou imagined that he truly looked like a demon, ready to take the daimyo's life.

"Stop," he wheezed. "No—no, you don't understand…"

Tenzou unsheathed his katana and advanced.

The daimyo fell at once to his knees. His eyes darted around the room. He was cowering, shielding his face with his hands. "Please, you don't understand... I m-made a g-grave mistake tonight…"

"Tenzou!" Kakashi's voice shouted through Tenzou's earpiece.

"What?" Tenzou yelled back. His heart was hammering in his chest.

The daimyo crawled forward. "They said they could bring her back. I had to make the deal… oh, forgive me for what I have done…"

Tenzou swung his sword.

A moment later, Kakashi burst through the door, panting hard.

"What are you doing here?" Tenzou asked harshly.

Kakashi ignored him and walked straight through the puddle of blood towards the daimyo's desk. He inhaled sharply. He grabbed the daimyo's headless body and turned it over. Tenzou shouted in protest.

"His index finger…" Kakashi lifted the daimyo's arm. "Look…"

With a cold chill, Tenzou realized that the daimyo's ring finger was sliced clean off. How hadn't he noticed it? It was in the mission plan! His stomach twisted and he began to feel extremely sick.

He had no time to explain himself. The floor jerked beneath them suddenly, sending Tenzou crashing into the wobbling wall to hold himself up.

"What—?" His question was cut off as the bookcase that lined the other half of the room crashed to the ground, sending a slew of books across the room, hitting Kakashi and him in the process. As he batted away another book with his arm, he opened his mouth to yell at Kakashi to run, but a sudden burst of heat engulfed the room.

The floorboards underneath them disintegrated and Tenzou clutched at the shelving to keep himself from falling through the floorboards but it was too late to save himself. The pain that rolled through Tenzou's entire body was white-hot; all the air was dragged out of his lungs. The last thing he saw was Kakashi's silver hair fluttering in the wind.

His body crumpled into itself like a limp rag doll and everything went dark.


	7. Reinventing the Wheel

Tenzou was sure he had died. He had never been dead before, except for _that_  one time that required him to be resuscitated and it seemed like, in his mind at least, that death was an awful lot like this. He felt no pain, heard nothing and saw nothing.

All his life, he was rooting for a "good" place to go to when he kicked the proverbial bucket. Even though he racked up enough kills within his lifetime to most certainly be booted out of another man's church, he still wondered if there was some place other than dirt and worms where he would spend the rest of eternity. Apparently a great void was waiting for shinobi like him. How unfortunate, too.

Well, the darkness wasn't so bad, he thought to himself. It was certainly better than having to spend till the dawn of time with Kakashi floating around him like a flickering, blurred head. He sighed and wondered where to go from here.

He tried pulling himself up, but all that did was give him the feeling of being flipped upside down. Two more attempts of that and a haze drifted over his eyes so that he couldn't tell if his eyes were open or closed.

He blinked.  _Why_ was he dead? Did he have a good reason to be sitting around in the dark, contemplating the meaning of life (or something)? There was some piece of information niggling at the back of his head, threatening to ooze out of his brain, much like the wetness at his temple. And the more he thought about how  _wrong_  that comparison was, the more he thought about the situation as a whole, the more dazed he became.

The darkness was sputtering in and out like a light switch now, with dots of lights beginning to encroach on his vision. He felt his pupils contract with each flicker and he tilted his head away. Something pulled at his eyelids and peeled them back. The weight at his brow was both comforting and confusing. Comforting because the action was familiar, but confusing because he slowly came to realize something was entirely off about this situation. An intense, warm light trailed down his face and left a path of prickling tingles in its wake. He felt himself slipping back into the haze, no longer hyperaware of the touch at his forehead and jaw.

Time flowed over and around him. How much time had passed between his confusion and the present was just a convoluted number in his head.

He had tried counting, but only reached ten before he realized how stupid that was. His chest began to constrict then, because he couldn't  _remember._ What happened? he asked the darkness. It didn't answer. Tears prickled at his eyes in frustration. For some reason, this made him nauseous. Crying was normally an action he reserved for dire situations, but being dead was a good a reason as any to want to sob.

A prickle of pain drifted up his arm right about the time he opened his mouth to shout and he started with a jerk. He was not expecting to feel anything, since he had started out so numb. He turned his head to look at his arm, when his command for it to be lifted and brought into his line of vision went ignored.

It wasn't as if he could clearly see anything, anyway; his vision was still star-speckled and blurred, but the general shape of a limb gave him comfort that his earthly body was still very much intact. A stupid arm, it was. The more he looked at it though, the more he wanted sensation to flow back into it. Because, the last time he checked, an arm still attached to his body should have been able to move when he wanted it to.

Either Tenzou was horrible at willing his body parts to move, or there was an extraneous reason he had no control over it; which was a shame, really, because he was starting to  _feel_ it again and it hurt. A cutting tension gripped his fingers, almost like someone was squeezing his hand. They felt swollen and they twitched on their own volition. Suddenly, his fingertips felt like twenty needles were prodding into them and this sensation traveled down his palm and settled at his wrist.

Each throb was worse than the next and Tenzou wondered what he had done to warrant such a horrible afterlife.  _Plenty_ , a disembodied voice kindly replied, and if Tenzou had been in any less pain, the voice would have gotten a nice view of his middle finger.

He tilted his head away, trying to ignore the burning sensation that came alive in his shoulder and neck. The pain was hard to describe, other than the fact that it hurt more than his wounded ego and a broken limb combined. His vision split and blurred before him, the dark canvas and the lights and colors melding together into an amorphous gray silhouette. He gasped once, then twice, and a low ringing began to buzz in his ears.

He found it hard to breathe. But why did he need to breathe anyway? He was dead. The need to swirl air around his lungs must have been a phantom want that was more or less something to be discarded in the next life. It hurt to breathe, too, so it was just as well.

Stopping his diaphragm from pulling down and pushing up was easier said than done. But he did it until his dead lungs burned. His eyes watered and his body sagged into whatever oblivion he was in.

The ringing in his ear became louder, the pounding in his head all the more painful. His eyes felt like they would burst open. He felt himself going under again, till a sharp voice jostled him into attention and made him take a shuddering breath out of surprise.  _Keep breathing,_  it said,  _keep breathing or I'll have to pretend like I choked you myself._  The voice sounded strangely like Kakashi, so maybe he  _was_ in Hell after all.

He breathed in and felt that pressure at his eyelids again. Tenzou exhaled. A flood of information and feeling sucked back into his lungs with his next breath in.

In the beginning, there was the end and, strangely enough, a spinning wheel. It revolved around and around (like anything remotely circular tends to do) and the longer he stared up at it the less he could look away and the more the colors on the wheel blurred together. There was a deep, dark red flecked around a strong black and then a pearly white tinged with pink; the more it spun the more metallic-rust it became and soon he found that all parts swallowed him up. A sudden giddy feeling ignited inside of him and the dark void began to recede with each turn of the wheel. The darkness was replaced, ironically enough, with more darkness, except this darkness was something he could actually focus on.

Everything made much more sense. Each revolution of that wheel implanted something into his brain, opening up his nerve endings and helping the chemical flow between his synapses. It felt sort of like a home invasion, except nothing was being stolen or disturbed, just replaced and shuffled around. Then without much warning, the spinning stopped and he was spit out so violently from the trance that his whole body went into spasm. He was drenched in sweat and blood and the previous events of the day came rushing back to him.

He wasn't dead, just very close to it. And the pain he felt in his arm? He was very sure was a dislocated shoulder. And with the way it was throbbing Tenzou was torn between stabbing himself in the neck and popping the bone back into the socket.

"Don't move."

He started again, groaning when the move sent a blast of pain into his back. Whoever was next to him was going to get a mouthful, when he could actually focus on them. It took a few seconds for his vision of clear, although there still was a hefty amount of a blur around the person. Even so, it would be hard for him to forget who he saw.

So, much to Tenzou's dismay, Kakashi was directly over him.

_Yes, your majesty_. Being snippy was an automatic reaction, even as he was toeing the door of death.

"You  _do_ realize I'm the only one here to help you, right?" Kakashi snapped in a strained whisper.

Tenzou hadn't realized he had said anything. The more he mulled over it (it wasn't a very long mulling, mind you) chances were Kakashi  _knew_ Tenzou was being an asshole in his mind right about now. Go figure.

"What happened?" Tenzou asked. His jaw was heavy and hard to move, so he imagined his words were completely slurred. As much as he tried to rack his brain for answers, all he got was that he was in a great deal of pain and he wasn't sure why. He felt Kakashi snake an arm around his torso, then a faint grip around his wrist. He cast Kakashi a wary look and if he could he would have scooted away to punch the guy in the solar plexus.

"Later."

Kakashi loomed over him now and Tenzou really, really didn't like the place this situation was heading. And it seemed like he had good cause for worry, too, because the asshole suddenly yanked at his arm and although Tenzou sometimes prided himself on his tolerance for pain, what he was feeling at the moment took the cake and ran very, very far away with it. He wasn't entirely sure what the rest of his body was doing, but it probably involved lots of involuntary twitching and flailing.

The moment between his shoulder being pulled about and readjusted probably only lasted a few seconds, but Tenzou had a sinking feeling that he had shrieked a little too shrilly to keep his dignity intact.

And for the second time (or third, if you counted his alcohol-induced blackout) in a week, Tenzou found himself giving into the sensations of a prompt fainting spell.

* * *

"Welcome back, Sleeping Beauty."

Tenzou shifted a little, feeling a sharp pang in his shoulder. He wondered, for just a moment, why he felt like he had been hit by a cart full of goats. Two snapping noises made him open his eyes and bring his vision up to where Raidou and Kakashi were standing over him.

He blinked twice and swore as the events of the night flooded into his mind. It was a little too much to comprehend. A distinct haze was still clogging his brain. Had he completed his mission? He was about to ask, but Raidou kneeled down next to him and pressed a gloveless hand to his neck.

"I'm sure you have a pretty bad concussion," he said. "But Kakashi  _helpfully_ set your dislocated shoulder back into place." He sent a rather scathing glance over his shoulder before turning back to face Tenzou.

"We'll explain the details later, but right now we need to get you out of here." Kakashi was holding a hand to his side and Tenzou thought he saw blood staining his gloves.

"Can you stand?" Raidou asked, sliding a hand between Tenzou's shoulder blades.

Tenzou groaned with the effort of pulling himself up, realizing that the pain in his chest was not normal. He motioned for Raidou to set him back down again, which he did, but not without some hesitance.

"I'm having… trouble breathing," he rasped out.

"Shit," Raidou sad, wiping his brow, "broken ribs?"

"The question was 'can you walk?'" Kakashi said tightly.

Tenzou was about to retort with something along the lines of "fuck you", but knew that that statement was not only counterproductive, but it might very well cost the three of them their lives. While the three of them were no contest against a group of vagrant bodyguards, Tenzou had a feeling only Raidou would have been any help right now. And, considering Raidou would have to cover for both Kakashi and he, the prospect of making it out alive were rather slim. Time was of the essence and bickering with his superior was only wasting it.

But where were Genma and Hayate?

"Give me a boost and I'll see what I can do," he said after a moment, the words coming out clipped and breathy. Raidou lifted him into a sitting position once more. The horizon tilted to the side and the trees around them blurred. Raidou and Kakashi dissipated into blurred shapes and colors and, before he could give any warnings, he threw up on Raidou.

Raidou swore again and was about to lay him back down before Tenzou groped around for his arm. It was a little difficult to reach over, since each movement jostled his right arm (which was helpfully held in place by a makeshift sling).

"Up," he said, still swimming in a sea of blurs. It felt a little like being drunk, except far more painful and jarring. He closed his eyes when he was finally placed on his feet and let himself be led away. The lingering taste of bile made him feel more nauseous and the acid burned his throat but he knew they didn't have time to worry about these things.

"Kakashi, genjutsu please." Raidou intoned from his side. "Also, Tenzou, keep your eyes open."

"Sure, if you want me to vomit on you again  _that_ badly."

"On second thought, how about I tell you when to step over something?"

"S'deal."

Tenzou had only been on a boat once before in his young life. That was when he had been convinced by his sensei and teammates to come along with them for a coastal vacation. It sounded like a bad idea at the time, but it only took a turn for the worse when it was actually executed. He spent most of the trip on the side of the boat, vomiting, or inside his room, vomiting. Yumi had tried giving him herbal remedies, but somehow his sensei had switched the ginger root powder with some form of poison or other.  _To keep you on your toes,_ he had said. Yumi managed to catch the mix-up in time, but even after giving Tenzou a remedy for the poison, he still had not been cured of his seasickness.

Tenzou never forgave the man for that incident.

The moral of the story was that he would rather be back on that boat, rocking to and fro, clutching a bucket to his chest, than  _here,_ stepping over pieces of rubble with a concussion that rendered his senses completely useless. He stubbed his toe on a beam— or something that felt suspiciously like a beam, since he refused to even open his eyes for one second—and cursed.

"We should be safe for now," Kakashi said.

The air shifted around them slowly. Even with his eyes closed, Tenzou could feel it. While his area of expertise was more ninjutsu and close-quarter combat and less chakra-induced illusions, he could still appreciate a decent jutsu when he saw one. Of course, that didn't mean he would actually say anything about said appreciation. He'd just think it and be glad that he wasn't ever going to be on the receiving end of it.

"Watch your step," Raidou said, gripping his elbow and turning him in another direction.

After the three of them had cleared the building Tenzou was beginning to become a little restless. He could hear the crunch of the leaves beneath his feet and the shouts of the bodyguards that were, presumably, a little ways behind them. Raidou and Kakashi were giving off a nervous energy that didn't help quell his own skittish nerves and he really wanted answers. The lucid part of his mind told him to keep quiet until they were far, far away from the wreck. The pushy part of him told him his teammates wouldn't mind him asking questions at the moment. Considering the fact that he had knocked his head pretty hard, the choice was much more difficult than it should have been.

After a while, Tenzou felt like he could open his eyes without gagging. He wasn't sure how much time had passed since Raidou and Kakashi had led him off into the forest, just that it had started raining shortly after they lost the bodyguards that had trailed after them. Breathing was a task that increased in difficulty the more they walked. Tenzou was able to block out the pain in his shoulder by focusing on the fact that he may very well  _stop breathing_ at any second, but it was hard. The blurring of his vision had subsided just enough that he wasn't completely leaning on Raidou, but he was pretty certain he'd slump over the moment he let go entirely.

The drizzling rain had turned into a torrential downpour just as Tenzou was beginning to think their day was on an upswing. Thunder clapped loudly in the distance.

The water stung the cuts along Tenzou's forehead, slipped down his nose and filled his mouth. It wasn't completely unpleasant, but he knew it would eventually be a hindrance to their performance.

He turned his head to glance at Kakashi. He was still favoring his side and was much paler than usual. A limp was apparent in his stride, the left foot, and Tenzou couldn't believe that a little explosion had shaken the infallible Copy Ninja up so much. He wasn't even reading his favorite novel.

Kakashi breathed out harshly. "We're far enough."

Raidou paused in step and Tenzou stilled beside him, swaying in just the slightest way. "Captain, I think we can probably make a few miles more."

"You and I can, but Tenzou can barely stand."

Tenzou frowned. What the hell was Kakashi on about now? Tenzou was the one walking just fine.  _Kakashi_ was the idiot clutching at his oozing wounds, limping along like a kicked puppy.

Raidou nodded tersely and helped lay Tenzou down onto his back. Icy raindrops pelted his face; there was no time to make shelter and the foliage was just enough that they could get away from the worst of the storm. Tenzou couldn't see what was happening between his two teammates at his position (and he really didn't want to lift his aching head), but he could see their feet. They looked like they were in a standoff.

A moment later Raidou seated himself next to his battered comrade. He crossed his arms over his chest and leaned up against the stump of a tree. His body language apparently read that he didn't give a rat's ass about what happened to his captain anymore. He looked down at Tenzou. Tenzou looked right back up.

"It's a miracle you're alive," Raidou explained.

Tenzou nearly rolled his eyes and caught his breath before replying. "The miracle would have been better if I had gotten away without a scratch."

Raidou snorted. "Before you woke up I spent five minutes looking around the wreck for your sandals."

"Blew me right out of them, huh?"

"And I think you're missing some teeth, too."

A cold grip reached around his heart and squeezed.

Oh, god,  _no_.

Not his pearly whites.

* * *

They had been walking for hours. Just one foot in front of the other, walking. Tenzou was a little better on his feet, his concussion still causing him balance problems every now and then, but the extent of the damage wasn't nearly as bad as previously thought. Kakashi was, apparently, disappointed upon hearing the news.

Once again, time escaped him. All he knew was that the sun was beginning to slide down over the horizon—they had been on their feet, trudging back to Konoha for the better part of the day. When they had set out on their trek home, it had still been pitch black. They only rested for a little while, but even that span of time was lost to sleep. Still, plenty had gone on between his waking now and the present.

Raidou had informed Tenzou that both Genma and Hayate (and a pug named Pakkun) had taken off to gather medical reinforcements. He also learned that, after successfully assassinating the daimyo, the building had promptly blown up from underneath him and collapsed. The how or why Raidou was entirely unsure of and had informed Tenzou to not dwell on that fact.

When Tenzou asked why Kakashi was forced to stitch himself up with a needle and thread (because he refused to have Raidou help him), Raidou just gave him a stern look and told him to not ask questions.

They must have been a pathetic sight; three elite shinobi from Konoha trudging their way home, licking their wounds and dragging each other back home. The mission went off without much problem, though, if one didn't count the fact that a building exploded and nearly killed the assassin.

Still, the objectives had been completed. The daimyo's head was probably still rolling around between the splintered floorboards and Tenzou presumed Kakashi had the ring in his possession. The aftereffects were laughable. Tenzou cracked a grin. He had a feeling his body was torn between crying and grinning and crying would have hurt his ribs too much.

He wondered what Kakashi thought of him now. He wondered what  _everyone_ on the team thought about him and what the village would think of him when they saw him crawling home like this. If he was as good as he wanted to be, a little explosion shouldn't have knocked him down so hard.

As he was mulling over his shortcomings, the rain stopped and the clouds disappeared enough to see that a high moon had finally settled above them. The temperature dropped off a good few degrees more and Tenzou found himself sweating and shaking profusely. His stomach couldn't handle anything but water, no matter how much better he thought he felt. Kakashi warned him off eating anything and Tenzou agreed, albeit reluctantly. It wasn't like he hadn't gone days without eating before, but he had never quite been affected like this.

A cold sweat broke over his forehead; all the heat and humidity that had been trapped by the rain disappeared and left him reeling. When he caught sight of his countenance in a trickling brook they had passed by he saw that he was almost as pale and grey as Kakashi's hair. The pain from his shoulder had traveled up around his neck and down his back, too. There was a stiffness in his neck and collarbone that hadn't been there before and he found that turning his torso was nearly impossible because of the pain. He was beginning to fear that Kakashi had set his shoulder incorrectly, but tried to keep the image of having to go through that again out of his mind. There was no way he was letting anyone touch him like that without a hefty dose of drugs.

Still, the pain was bearable, but only because Raidou kept feeding him painkillers. He was half tempted to start rooting around his own medical pack to see if he could sneak some more pills on the side, but thought better of overdosing. Really, that would have been a pathetic way to go. He considered taking soldier pills, but soon realized they would have been a waste and little help. He could handle second-grade painkillers for now, but had a feeling Raidou was getting stingy with them.

"How much ground do you think Genma and Hayate can cover?" he asked to no one in particular, desperate for some conversation to get his mind off his body.

"They should have been here by now," Raidou said. His voice was strained.

Kakashi turned his head to look at Tenzou; surprisingly enough, he still hadn't touched his novel. "Unless Pakkun can pick our scent up on the way back, they'll need to head to the daimyo's mansion and follow the scent trail from there. The rain probably washed it all away, though…"

"Hopefully that won't be the case. Hopefully they can pick something up." Tenzou paused, a thoughtful expression crossing his sweaty face. "I could really use some Vicodin right about now."

"You've been popping pills since last night," Raidou ground out. "This isn't candy, you know."

Tenzou grumbled.

What, did Raidou think he was hooked on pills now? Apparently wanting to take the edge off excruciating pain meant everyone's respect for you took a swan dive into the dirt. He sulked as best as he could, which wasn't very good at the moment, since standing pretty much upright was the only way to keep his frustrated tears at bay.

Another two hours passed with only a few minutes of break in-between. The day had gone from hot and humid to bone-chilling cold. Tenzou hoped that a greenhouse effect from the foliage would have kept up, but it was not the case.

Kakashi showed no signs of letting up, although he looked even worse for wear than Tenzou. A person had to admire the man's ego, but his sense of pride would earn him a decent-sized scar and possibly a prolonged stay at the hospital. Admirable, yes, but ultimately stupid. Raidou looked tired, but that was probably because he had been on perpetual guard duty combined with holding-Tenzou-up duty.

Tenzou closed his eyes briefly and wiped at his brow. It did nothing but move the sweat around and add to his discomfort. He felt drained and the desire to sleep was overwhelming. Anything to escape the cold and the pain seemed like a good alternative. But there was at least a few more hours to go before the sun would rise again and there were no signs of either Genma or Hayate showing up with the cavalry. He wanted to ask for a break, but knew that if he lay down now, there was no way he was standing back up again. He occupied his time by staring at the path ahead of them and wiggling his fingers to keep them from becoming weak.

The hot-and-cold sensations he attributed to his ingestion of painkillers still wracked his body from time to time. He was above asking for a blanket, but wasn't sure he'd be able to last the night without one.

Raidou was beginning to look worried.

It had been hours and still no one came to their aid.

Kakashi was still limping ahead of him and Raidou, marking every third tree with a chakra marker that would presumably alert Pakkun to their presence if the canine ever came by this way. He had been at this for quite a while now and Tenzou thought he was doing the action for his own comfort than out of productivity. If the dog couldn't find them on scent alone, then he wondered how it'd ever be smart enough to take notice of faint chakra signatures implanted into trees. It was a clever idea, but it was most probably above the intelligence level of dogs.

"Captain," Raidou said tiredly, "I suggest we stop here. I hear a water source to the left… it'd be a perfect place for cover."

Kakashi stopped by a tree, his hand aglow in bright blue chakra; it flickered away slowly, like a candle desperately hanging onto the last vestiges of life while an angry child was furiously blowing at it. Tenzou blinked. Concussions were most certainly not productive to brilliant analogies.

"I'll handle the fire and you can refill the canteens." Kakashi said after a moment and he turned down the path to most likely gather kindling and firewood. The lingering suggestion that Tenzou was utterly useless seemed to fill the air, but that was probably Tenzou's paranoia and wild imagination playing tricks on him. He looked at Raidou, who shrugged helplessly in return.

Ever since Tenzou had woken up, Kakashi had been strangely distant from either of his teammates. During the breaks, he had left them behind to their own devices or sat as far as possible. Raidou made several attempts to offer emergency medical assistance to the man, but was rebuffed each time. The way he addressed them seemed to border on cruel instead of the jerk-tinged commands he had used earlier in their mission. Tenzou was curious about the sudden change, but was secretly glad Kakashi was beginning to live up to the asshole image Tenzou had given him all along. Slowly though, the smug satisfaction he felt drained away to a lingering worry in the back of his head. Just what was so bad that Kakashi had lost all his cool patience?

"Come on." Raidou helped him over to a tall tree and laid him down by the trunk. He patted Tenzou's chest fondly. "If you need anything, just gurgle."

Tenzou gave him a mock salute with his good arm. Raidou slung their canteens over his shoulder and left the pathway with a wry chuckle. Now that he was alone, Tenzou had time to muse; it wasn't that he hadn't mused at all today, because he had. But it was different kind of musing when he was alone. Now, in the peace and solitude of the forest, he could—

A snapping twig cut his thought short. Kakashi appeared from the shadows carrying an armful of branches and some dry-looking shrubbery. It was obvious he wasn't trying to spook Tenzou, since elite shinobi didn't snap twigs underfoot, and he wondered why Kakashi even bothered being considerate anymore.

Kakashi dumped the wood to the ground and got to his knees slowly. He piled them up in an upside down-v position and pulled out a lighter from a random pocket of his. After two swift strokes at the flint, a healthy flame ignited and Kakashi held the dry pieces of shrubbery underneath it. They caught fire quickly and Kakashi placed them carefully between the sticks. Tenzou watched the flame grow, licking at the wooden pieces at first, consuming them next.

Kakashi prodded the fire pit with another stick, letting a group of red flecks burst and flutter and disperse in the gentle night's breeze. The faint warmth Tenzou felt at his side was welcome, even if it left the other side of his body unfavorably chilled.

"Enough heat?" Kakashi asked unexpectedly.

Tenzou turned his gaze away from the orange-red glow and settled on Kakashi's masked face. The shadows from the fire danced over his torn uniform; he had a large rip along the neck of his mask and a good part of his gloves were burned. A piece of his arm guard was chipped off. His vest was relatively intact, except for a tear that went so deep it had required Kakashi to patch up his own skin. But it wasn't how Kakashi's clothes looked that made Tenzou feel unwittingly guilty. It was his face.

It might have been the shadows the fire cast across his eyes, or maybe it was just his concussion acting up again, but Kakashi looked positively pained. Tenzou had come to associate a shit-eating grin with Kakashi's general features, and the idea of him looking just a little forlorn gave him some pause. Really, what  _had_ happened? He wanted to ask, but knew asking for Kakashi to divulge personal information was the equivalent of getting a root canal.

Instead he nodded and said a quiet voice, "Yeah. It's good enough."

Raidou stepped into the clearing now and handed Tenzou and Kakashi their respective canteens. He gave the two of his teammates a long look, his hands settling on his hips in a reluctant way. "I guess I'm on guard duty tonight."

Kakashi nodded his head. "If you don't mind."

"I'd volunteer," Tenzou said, "but then Konoha'd blame me when you two end up dead."

"Ha, very funny." Raidou said blandly. "Try to get some sleep tonight. You two need to be alert for me tomorrow." He then walked off into the shadows, probably setting up his own camp a little ways away from his teammates.

Kakashi prodded the fire pit again. He looked like he was lost once more in his thoughts.

"I'm probably out of line by saying this, but…" Tenzou started slowly, "maybe you want to talk to somebody?" It was the best olive branch he could come up with at such short notice.

Kakashi looked at him with an indiscernible expression on his face. "You're right."

Tenzou gaped. "What?"

"You  _are_ out of line."

Tenzou frowned and snapped out a quick, "I'm sure you'd know all about being out of line."

So much for trying to extend a peace offering.

He closed his eyes and tried to let the lull and crackle of the fire pull him into a semblance of sleep. But every time he got close to the brink of it, something would push him back. A lot of times it was his shoulder being jostled by his own half-asleep movements and sometimes it was just a phantom thought that crept its way into his head and blocked his way from oblivion. It was frustrating if nothing else and he scanned the impromptu camp for something that would bore him enough to sleep.

Kakashi stirred awake from his position against another tree trunk. His right eye was droopier than usual, still clouded over by fatigue and remnants of bad sleep.

"Dreamt anything?" Tenzou asked, desperate enough to make small talk.

Kakashi sat up straighter, a mild wince crossing his face for a split second. "Are you okay?"

"I think you've asked me that before. It didn't end well… so sure, I am."

Kakashi chuckled. "I'm glad to see that not even a head wound can stop your snotty comments."

"I try."

"You look awful," Kakashi said, giving him a long, calculated look.

"You look like you're about to put me out of my misery," Tenzou said, flushing brightly underneath the scrunity.

Kakashi said nothing in return. Instead he got up from his position and sat down next to Tenzou. His body language suggested he was conflicted over something, but Tenzou couldn't really begin to imagine what about. There was no way he felt guilty about all the nasty things he had said before. A week of knowing the Copy Ninja was enough for Tenzou to understand and reluctantly accept this fact. Perhaps he really thought Tenzou was on his deathbed and wanted to make amends?

Then without much warning, Kakashi was invading his personal space again. One of his gloved hands came around to grip Tenzou's neck while the other lifted up his headband to reveal his left eye.

Tenzou blinked. Why was Kakashi showing him his Sharingan?

It revolved around and around, the red and black and white merging together with every turn. He was fascinated, although all his senses were telling him to close his eyes and look away. But just one look and he already felt like his eyelids were hooked open.

The wheel pulled his mind out of his body. The feeling in his limbs became but a phantom in the back of his mind, until it felt like the only part of him left was whatever was left staring at that wheel.

A strong sense of déjà vu hit Tenzou and he  _knew_ what was happening, he  _knew_  what was going on. His body screamed at him to let go, shut his eyes,  _anything,_ that the chakra he was feeling was hostile, invading him and would ultimately hurt him.

The tragedy was that he knew this and couldn't—no, he  _didn't_  want to look away. One last push from his rational side forced him to move, but he couldn't do anything but weakly lift a hand to pry at the trembling fingers around his throat and wheeze out a, "I didn't think you'd…" before succumbing to the ebb and flow and turn of that strange, strange spinning wheel.


	8. With Friends

"Have some of mine."

Tenzou wrinkled his nose, "Are you trying to poison me? Because that looks vile."

Daisuke made a wild gesture and whispered harshly, "Shh, don't say that so loud! Yumi made it."

Tenzou gulped slowly. Yumi didn't know the difference between a spoon and spatula. Her cooking was horrid, but she seemed to live under the illusion that she was a world-class chef. Under a spell of inspiration (which happened less and less frequently these days, thank goodness), she'd brew up something foul and pass it on to "her boys." Which was all well and good, except for the fact that not eating Yumi's food made her upset. Commenting on its taste or looks made her livid. So they had all learned to lie and lie well.

An unfortunate way to learn a skill, his sensei had said wistfully.

Being the gentlemen that they were, Daisuke and he always concocted strange plans to rid themselves of the stuff on the sly. Although they were both accomplices, neither of them were above fobbing the food onto the other.

But being blindsided, like Daisuke forking the meal to him without telling him who made it, often made Tenzou slip up and say things he shouldn't. "Oh." He was relieved. "At least she isn't behind me."

"Are you two losers talking about me?"

Daisuke and he exchanged wary glances as Yumi sat herself down next to them. She wasn't throttling anyone yet, so chances were high she hadn't actually heard Tenzou's critique of her culinary skills.

"No," Daisuke said, pushing his glasses higher up on the bridge of his nose. "Tenzou was just commenting on how nice the weather is."

"Since when do I care about the weather?" he said, feeling soundly used.

Yumi rubbed at her cheek, looking awfully smug all of a sudden. "You know, I thought all you tree-hugger types did."

"I can make trees," Tenzou explained, clearly exasperated. They had been teammates for a good few years now and she was still teasing him about his trademark jutsus. "There is no 'hugging' involved."

Before they could get into another argument, Daisuke quickly diverted Yumi's attention to him and his new strategy booklet. It was obvious she had absolutely no interest in it, but paid attention despite that; patient undertones often lied beneath otherwise bitchy overtones, Tenzou had learned. He cast Daisuke a grateful look. The only response he received was a shrug. Handling angry female teammates was a task usually handed off to him anyway.

Tenzou sighed and moved away from the two to lie back on a grassy knoll several feet away. It was a nice day out, perfect for relaxing; not too hot and most certainly not cold. He'd shrugged out of his flak jacket after noon. It was one of those days where he felt an out-of-character, jovial attitude. The corners of his mouth felt lifted even when he wasn't smiling. He'd laughed at Daisuke's jokes more than usual.

He figured his spirits were up because of his callback for the next ANBU test. High enough that he was even willing to call his teammates out for an impromptu get-together. Daisuke had enough free time to come and Yumi wasn't yet annoyed with him to not. Sensei was casually left out of the equation, although he had a sinking feeling that that choice would have dire retributions in the future.

As much as he liked to complain incessantly about them (in the privacy of his own mind, of course), they really were the only shinobi he considered close to him. After reading through the scrawl of the poor person who had to write boring, diplomatic acceptance letters, Tenzou decided that there was much cause for celebration. It was strange that the people he considered the most aggravating were the ones he'd called first when he got the good news. And by "good news", he meant a not-so-convincing lie that involved Bucket's fourth birthday.

But it hardly mattered. Yumi and Daisuke were smiling at him from their perch underneath the trees and a crumpled piece of parchment was tucked safely in his pocket. Everything was going perfectly as planned. A calm breeze floated over the edge of the cliff and rolled over them, rustling the tree leaves and casting a flurry of flower seeds across the grass field.

"Hey Tenzou, this is supposed to be your party! Don't you know how a host is supposed to act?" Yumi said, faux-exasperation coating all her words.

He heard Daisuke snort. "Yeah. Bucket will be upset if you don't join us."

Yumi laughed. "Lucky for you two, I made some chocolate cake just for the occasion!" He heard the tinkle of plates and utensils clinking together.

Daisuke began to stammer.

Tenzou smiled in spite of his horrified digestive system.

* * *

He woke up in the hospital.

All the nerves in his body felt strangely hyper-aware and a dull ringing rattled around in his eardrums. Everything felt very clear. He shifted up in the bed, wincing at the flare of pain he felt along his sides. He let out a breath and relaxed against the pillow propping him up. The pain subsided almost immediately. It took him a moment to remember everything that had happened. The promotion into ANBU, the bar, the briefing, the  _mission._ Kakashi leaning up against the doorway before the room splintered underneath them both. Everything significant in the past week began to compound and he suddenly felt very breathless.

An important piece of information was tucked in the back of his mind. He tried to remember, to reach as far as he could, but it wouldn't come to him no matter how hard he tried.

His room was very plain. The ceiling was tiled and white, with several rows of fluorescent panels stretched across the ceiling. None of them were turned on. The window next to him was partway closed and the blinds were drawn open. It must have been very early in the morning, or the day was just beginning to wind down.

A warm breeze flitted over his head. The scent of fresh pine and fried foods began to mingle with the smell of his room; it made him partly sick, but it also made him feel more comfortable-knowing that the village was still running and that he was still a part of it. Being alive was great, but it always felt a hundred times more pleasant when you knew you were so close to being dead.

The door to his room swung open and a hurried-looking nurse swept inside. She was scribbling things across a clipboard and snatched another one up from the foot of his bed. He debated on letting her know that he was awake, but she looked up before he had a chance to say anything. "Oh, Tenzou-san," she said, her tone somewhere between surprised and frustrated. He wondered, idly, which patient had pissed in her cereal this shift.

"Hi," he rasped out, for lack of anything better to say. His tongue felt a little dry and his throat felt rather tight.

"How are you feeling?" she asked, enunciating slowly, as if he had experienced more head trauma than he had previously thought. It could have been possible, but he didn't feel any more traumatized than usual.

"Water would be nice," he replied. "But I feel fine otherwise."

She nodded her head, scribbling away at the papers in the clipboard. She didn't seem to be interested in getting him that glass of water he had requested, though. After a moment she said, "Can you tell me your address?"

He quirked an eyebrow. "It should be on my health insurance card."

She paused in her writing and peered at him. "Can you tell me your address,  _please_?"

Tenzou shifted uncomfortably. "Red Leaf Apartments, third floor, apartment number five."

"Do you know the date?"

"I'll guess April ninth," he said. The nurse nodded her head with an expectant sigh.

He knew he didn't know the present date and it didn't alarm him, nor did it seem to alarm the nurse. Keeping track of dates and times tends to be difficult when you're passed out so often, right? he thought. Like after he had passed out in the forest. He paused.

_Kakashi. Sharingan._ A fuzzy image of a swirl of black and red jumped into his mind's eye and, with a quick intake of breath, he realized that he was suddenly very alone in a hospital room. Wouldn't the rest of his team visit him if he were in the hospital? If they were alive? What if both Kakashi and Raidou had been eaten by mountain lions while he had been passed out?

"What happened to the rest of my team?" he asked, feeling (and hearing) his heart rate speed up. The pressure over his index finger, the pulse monitor clip, seemed to increase along with it.

The nurse hooked the clipboard back over the end of the bed. A comforting smile spread across her lips. Tenzou found it strange how she could go from clinical to matronly in such a short span of time. "I don't have the clearance to know. But I'll let the doctor know that you've woken up. Relax for now."

Tenzou didn't know whether to heed her advice. If she didn't know the gruesome details then perhaps nothing had happened. But doctors were usually the ones to break the very bad news. The chances that anything distressing had happened to the team were slim. They were capable, even while severely incapacitated. But he'd rather be reassured by someone else about Genma and Hayate, Raidou, or even Kakashi, than to be left alone by himself to mull over...  _things._

He let out a heavy breath through his nose. He didn't even know  _why_ he was so worried. If there had been anything out in the forest, Tenzou was sure Kakashi would have gladly offered Tenzou's body as the first sacrifice. He sniffed.

He looked out the window again, watching several wisps of steam and smoke escape over the village. The ticking of a clock, probably hung somewhere in the shadows, lulled him into a light doze. There wasn't much else to do but wait.

The doctor came in about thirty minutes later. He was short and trim and looked to be about forty-something. He also looked a little agitated, as his wide eyes flashed about the room several times before finally landing on Tenzou. The doctor tugged on a loose piece of string on his coat pocket, looking rather uncomfortable in the doorway. He had faint scars etched across his face and hands-all of them looked to be from a senbon variant. Being as old as he looked, Tenzou assumed the man had been through the war as a medical shinobi and, as he was still alive and working, was probably a good one.

The nurse who Tenzou had talked to earlier slipped in behind the doctor, smiling tightly and carrying another clipboard.

"How are you feeling?" the doctor asked, moving towards his bedside in quick steps. The nurse remained by the doorway. Before Tenzou could answer, the doctor pulled out a small flashlight from his front pocket and pried Tenzou's eyelids apart. The reaction to blink set in, but the doctor kept about his business.

"So?" said the doctor, moving onto Tenzou's other eye. Instead of flashing a light however, he simply placed his fingers on Tenzou's temple. A faint glow surrounded his hand. Tenzou was amazed that he felt the same sensations as the light in his eyes; he blinked rapidly. The doctor didn't seem to mind.

"Parched," he said finally. It seemed a little rude to point out that he was feeling just a little uncomfortable with someone else's chakra probing around his head.

The glow around the doctor's hand dimmed as he pulled his hand away. "Well, if that's your only complaint, I think we did a swell job on fixing you up. You were brought in about thirty-six hours ago, severely dehydrated, concussed, with a dislocated shoulder. The usual fix with you young ninja, you know. I'm concerned about keeping the swelling down in your shoulder, but as long as you take what is prescribed to you your full range of motion should be up to snuff in, say, three weeks."

Tenzou nodded with a frown. "How long before I can start training again?"

"Nothing for at least a week and from there you can start with light exercise."

"And active duty?"

"Don't expect to see your name on the roster for another four weeks."

_Great._ His first mission and he was already on the disabled list. "My team… are they-?"

"Just fine. Almost better than that, actually," he said with a fluttering smile. The doctor rubbed his hands together and looked back at the nurse. "It might be best to fix up the discharge forms for him tonight, I think."

"Doctor, can you tell me Hatake-san's condition?" Tenzou asked suddenly, not all together sure why he'd even done so.

"I'm not sure I should say. Confidentiality and whatnot," the doctor said quietly. He seemed to be in deep thought then leaned in very close. "Between you and me his prognosis is positive, but I have to say, he was in far worse condition than you."

Nothing more was said to Tenzou after that, who was rather glad he didn't have to be bothered to think. The doctor ran few several more tests, either with chakra or another medical device. By the end of it, Tenzou's shoulder felt much better, but at the expense of quite a bit of poking and prodding that  _had_ hurt. The nurse and doctor left shortly after, leaving Tenzou alone with his thoughts once more.

The answers he'd received weren't the ones he'd been looking for and, honestly, had given him more questions. What had the doctor meant about Kakashi being in worse condition than he?

The image of his captain leaned up against a tree, his breathing labored, flashed in his mind. A shudder passed through Tenzou's body then. He suddenly felt very ashamed. Had he gotten out of the building faster-had he found the daimyo sooner...

"Stop thinking," he said, rubbing his temple with his free hand. He shifted as much as he could without causing himself pain and tried to shrug the guilty feeling off. It isn't healthy, he thought, to be thinking so hard right now. He closed his eyes and sleep caught up with him within minutes.

He awoke what seemed like several seconds later, when someone jostled his elbow. He was about to give that someone a piece of his mind, but croaked lamely instead.

It was bright in his room now. The fact that he hadn't woken up the moment the sunlight crept inside was a testament to how out of it he must have been. He blinked and rubbed his eyes with small sound of protest. When his vision finally cleared, he registered a sight that relieved him more than he'd thought was possible.

Genma was leaning over him, eyebrows raised, a senbon lazily bobbing between his lips. He looked amused.

A flood of relief and happiness swelled inside Tenzou's chest. His mouth twitched into a faint, but sincere, smile.

Hayate was sitting in the chair in the corner, reading a newspaper.

Raidou was peering out the window, lost in his own world, but soon turned to give Genma a look that said "quit it." He turned his focus onto Tenzou. "How do you feel?"

"Thirsty," said Tenzou automatically.

Genma handed him a styrofoam cup, already brimming with cool water. Tenzou drank it greedily.

"You're looking pretty good," said Genma, handing him another cup of water. He shook his head in disbelief. "We really thought you were gone…"

Hayate folded his newspaper in half as Genma's sentence trailed off. The atmosphere in the room churned with mixed emotions. Tenzou felt himself weighed down again. The chair at his bedside, presumably reserved for the team captain, was noticeably absent. He wondered if they'd left that seat empty on purpose, as a sort of subconscious low-note. But, right then, his mind conjured up the image of Kakashi doodling on his face with sharpie. A handlebar mustache, no doubt, would've been his punishment for getting himself injured.

"Hey," said Raidou, his face losing its usual impassiveness. "We're glad you're still with us."

Genma nodded, a wry smile spreading across his face. "You should have seen us as the med-nins carried you off. Raidou was shitting bricks."

"Thanks for visiting," Tenzou said quietly. He hadn't expected any less, but it was touching anyway.

Hayate smiled faintly. "When you're discharged, we ought to visit Hatake-san."

Tenzou nodded. "How is he doing, by the way?"

Genma sighed. "Drugged out of his mind."

"What he means to say is that, because he refused immediate medical attention from me until the very last second, he is enduring several rounds of antibiotics because of an infection," said Raidou. Upon seeing Tenzou's horrified expression, he continued. "It could have been life-threatening, but we got him in time. Nothing to worry about."

A faint knock at the door caught everyone's attention.

"We're decent," Genma said.

The door opened and a young girl slipped through. She bowed low at the hips, pressing her palms together. It was a traditional sign of respect. Not many in Konoha used it anyone, unless it was such-and-such occasion and you had to be especially frou-frou. Tenzou had never seen her before. She looked to be about thirteen or fourteen, with dark eyes and long, shining black hair. Tenzou had to admit that she was very pretty.

Hayate's normally pale face seemed to have received some color. It wasn't a flattering look on him: the flush turned out to be very blotchy and very, very red. Genma grinned ear-to-ear and gave Tenzou an all-knowing look.

"Gekkou-san," the girl began quietly, "your father asked me to-"

Hayate shot up from his seat and tossed the newspaper at his vacant seat. It missed the chair by a few inches and flopped to the floor.

"I'll let the nurse know you've woken up," Hayate said rapidly, his voice a long distance away from the calm Tenzou had grown used to. Hayate touched the girl's elbow and led her out of the room, speaking in a tone much too low for him to pick up on.

Tenzou looked at Genma and Raidou in bemusement. "What was that all about?"

" _That_ was Uzuki Yuugao," said Genma. "She's something of a katana prodigy that Hayate's father has decided would be perfect match for Hayate."

"And I take it Hayate isn't... interested?" said Tenzou. From the looks of it, Hayate had been positively  _frightened_ of the girl.

Raidou raised an eyebrow. "By what I've seen, he's interested all right. Very interested."

"He just doesn't want us-well, me-pestering him about it," Genma admitted. "And he's doing a very bad job of keeping it discreet, if you ask me."

Tenzou rubbed his face. "Is this what's waiting for me when I get a girlfriend?"

"Yes," Raidou said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

Genma cracked a smile. "Lucky for you they aren't exactly lining up outside the door."

Tenzou was itching to go home. He missed Bucket more than he'd ever admit aloud and, although he seldom stayed in his apartment for very long periods of time, he was beginning to miss its familiarity. Indeed there was familiarity in the dusty shelves and his window plants, as well as the calcium buildup in the shower he'd been putting off cleaning for months.

He wasn't sure if he exuded a more melancholy air than usual, but Genma's ribbing had been suspiciously mild so far.

After Hayate had left with his pseudo-girlfriend with whom he, presumably, went with to notify someone that Tenzou was ready to pack his stuff and flee, it'd taken a good hour for someone to get around to starting the discharge process.

Raidou had gone back to staring out the window rigidly and Tenzou wondered what he was trying to see. Genma took a seemingly deep interest in the placards around the room. The distraction his teammates offered was subtle and calming. Tenzou rather liked to keep it that way; he knew that the both of them had no qualms in pestering him incessantly, which would probably make his blood pressure shoot through the roof.

He picked at the loose threads on his hospital gown and made due with the company. It was a nice change to have people around. He'd already spent too many hours alone, cornered by his own thoughts.

It was a hard pill to swallow, but he  _liked_  having his new team around. Lying in the hospital bed alone had awoken something inside of him he hadn't realized was there before. Everyone was still annoying, of course. He was sure that would never change. But he was starting to care about these mismatched ninja he know called his squad.

Half an hour later, he was about ready to button-smash the call alert. Even a mean old nurse with a fondness of giving unnecessary enemas would have been better than the waiting _._ But Tenzou was sad to note that the device was on the side of his bad arm.

He was about to ask Genma to handle the button-smashing when the door creaked open and a young-looking clerk stepped in. She was carrying a box labeled with Tenzou's name. "You the patient?" she asked, slamming the box down on a visitor's chair. She looked unkempt and unfriendly.

He blinked. "Yes. What's-"

"This box has your personal effects. You're also being provided with civilian attire to wear home. You will also fill out all the forms contained within this folder," she tapped each item, "and return them to the front desk when they are completed."

"I understand-" he started, but was cut off when the woman held up her hand.

"That is all." And with that said, she left the room.

Raidou slid his hands into his pockets. "Everyone is very charming around here."

"Do they have to do more paperwork when we come out alive?" asked Genma.

Raidou titled his head to the side. "That would explain quite a bit."


	9. Discharged

Tenzou sighed, scribbling his name as best he could in the designated boxes (which happened to always be just a tad small).

He'd already gone through at least twenty-five sheets, and it seemed that there were  _at least_  twenty-five more to go. While Tenzou wasn't clueless about the inner workings of the hospital, he never remembered having to sign and date so many forms before. He sighed again; his hand was beginning to cramp already. Being off of clerical duty for so long had him feeling a little weak in the wrists.

"Can't you just give me a few pages? It'll speed this painful process up," Genma said, leaning over the stack of papers.

Raidou looked up from his reading-he'd picked up the newspaper soon after the clerk had left-and shook his head. " _Not_  legal," he murmured.

"As much I'd want to get out of here," said Tenzou tightly, "I think they'd notice if the writing suddenly went from cripple-scratch to clean."

Genma raised an eyebrow. "Have you seen my handwriting?"

Tenzou slid a completed sheet of paper towards Genma, a look of clear annoyance darkening his expression. Ink was splotched here and there, looking as if someone shook a leaky pen above the page. Half a thumb print was covering one of the boxes. It would've taken an eagle-eye to make out a name from the characters-a term Tenzou was hesitant to even use. "Can you duplicate this?" he asked.

"I'm a  _ninja_ ," Genma replied, a barely concealed scoff following the statement.

It took almost thirty minutes to complete the forms, even with Genma's help. Tenzou officially loathed paperwork. And hospitals.

Thankfully, the walk home was one of the most refreshing things Tenzou had experienced in quite a while. After convincing both Genma and Raidou that he didn't need an entourage to escort him home, he'd taken off at a slow gait from the village hospital. He'd made a vague promise to meet them somewhere or other, so that they could visit Kakashi as a group. He knew things needed to be discussed: what had happened and, probably as the highlight of the talk, what to do with Tenzou next.

The sun was out and the sky was a pretty blue with white, fluffy clouds drifting in the far off distance. The pine-fresh smell that had wafted into his hospital room was back again, and it was just as comforting as ever. He took a deep breath and wiggled his fingers; his arm was still in a tight sling and his shoulder wasn't hurting. Tenzou wasn't sure exactly what the nurses had given him as a send off, but they wouldn't see him complaining.

Before he knew it, he was already at the steps of his apartment building. Kimura-san, his landlord, was in his usual place. However, instead of his usual stool, he was sitting on an old chair.

"Good afternoon, Kimura-san," he said. Normally he would take evasive action and make an attempt to sprint up the stairs before the old man could notice, or just swing in through the back. But he felt less than normal at the moment and hardly cared that he struck up conversation with his still-senile landlord. He blamed the prescription drugs for his amiable mood.

Kimura-san blinked up at him, stroking his wispy beard. "Young Tenzou! What a pleasant surprise. You haven't said hello in days."

"I've been away for a little while," he replied, slightly surprised that the man even noticed his absence.

Kimura-san nodded gravely. "Ah,  _yes_. Troubled times, troubled times."

"Not really-" he stopped himself. This was an argument he would never win. "I suppose you could call it that, though."

They lulled into an awkward silence after that, one that Tenzou had never once experienced with his landlord before. Usually the old man was a chatterbox.

"You ought to be on your way then?" said Kimura-san, almost hopefully.

"Yeah, yeah," said Tenzou. "Nice talking to you."

It was a horribly nice day out and, with every step he took upstairs, he felt like turning back around. To do what, he didn't know. He didn't think he could stomach anything at the stands-whatever they were selling was almost guaranteed to be too greasy for his still-tender stomach.

Socializing was still a new subject to him, too, and the people his mind automatically thought of as "socializing fodder" probably had their own plans by now. He imagined Hayate trying to shrug off Yuugao's quiet attention as politely as possible, Genma and Raidou playing a game of cards in a random bar dive, and Kakashi. He paused as he reached his floor, his free hand resting on the guardrail. He didn't know enough about the man to picture his daily life, he realized.

He'd met Kakashi randomly in a Laundromat one day and learned that he wasn't much of a homebody. And for a good ninety percent of their time together, they'd exchanged not-so-kind words and phrases. Actually, it was mostly  _Kakashi_  who got most of the insults in with Tenzou barely managing to scrap his dignity together, but Tenzou tossed that little fact to the side.

He blinked. There he was, thinking about Kakashi again. He continued on through the apartment hallway undisturbed and opened his door without much trouble.

He heard the faint jingle of Bucket's collar tinkle somewhere in the house as soon as he was inside, but the cat took his time in coming out to greet him. He closed the door behind him and put his prescription on his coffee table.

As much as Bucket liked to play the  _alpha_  in their relationship, he always loved to cuddle whenever Tenzou came home from long days out. Tenzou took a deep breath, grateful that no one was around to see him kneel down and shower Bucket with affection-mostly in the form of cuddling and enthusiastic scratching under the chin. For once, Bucket was glad to wrap himself around Tenzou's leg and lean in towards his touch; Tenzou could feel the faint purr against his leg. His heart swelled and a content smile stretched across his lips, the way it only did when he came back home to his only family.

"I missed you, too, you stupid cat," Tenzou said. "I'm going to pass out soon. Want to come snuggle with me?"

Bucket looked up at him with watery eyes, perhaps wondering why Tenzou'd stopped petting him. He pressed his head against Tenzou's hand insistently and Tenzou happily obliged.

"You're a cruel thing, did you know that? I feed you and take care of you and cuddle with you whenever you want, but you couldn't care less about me otherwise. Then I'm gone for a few days and you can't get enough of me. Make up your mind, eh?" He scratched Bucket behind the ears, who didn't seem to be listening to anything Tenzou'd said.

"C'mon, let's go."

Tenzou scooped Bucket up-a little hard to do one-handed and drugged up, but Bucket made no protest-and headed towards his bedroom. He seldom let Bucket snooze with him (his bed should have been one thing the cat didn't believe to be his own), but he thought exceptions could be made today.

The room was cool, his blinds already pulled closed. He didn't remember leaving them that way the day he'd left, but it wasn't unusual for Yumi to "rearrange" his apartment whenever she came by to check up on Bucket and his plants.

He looked around his room, hoping that if she  _had_  "fixed" his room for him, he'd be able to find his stuff without too much trouble. He contemplated shrugging off the sling, but instead chose to let Bucket flop down onto the bed and scoot in after him. His hospital-issue clothes were what he would normally sleep in anyway.

He shifted around for a few minutes, trying to a find the perfect position to drift off in. He found that he was most relaxed on his back, with Bucket curled into a tight ball beside his head. The cat's barely audible purring lulled him into a deep sleep.

He awoke, several hours later, to a stabbing pain in his shoulder. His head was foggy with sleep and it took him a good minute to fit all the pieces together. Bucket was no longer at his pillow, but curled up at the foot of the bed. It was dark outside, but he couldn't tell if it was early morning or late evening.

He found that his sling was much looser than it had been when he'd been discharged from the hospital. It felt strange to be disheveled, as he did not usually shift around much in his sleep. Sleeping in trees meant sleeping still, after all. Though the dried saliva at the corners of his mouth was a testament to how deep he must have been asleep.

Tenzou slowly pulled himself into a seated position against his headboard, mindful of his bruised ribs. Moving was still extremely painful, even as he held his shoulder still and close to his tender torso. It was not to say that he couldn't handle the pain, but he'd really rather it not be his upon-first-waking sensation. His medication must have worn off very recently-there was no way he could have slept so soundly like this.

He found his prescription in the living room and fiddled with it until the child-proof cap came off with a pop. He briefly eyed the instructions before taking two pills into his mouth and swallowing. He ignored the fuzzy feeling in his throat he always got after taking pills dry. It wasn't long before his eyelids started to droop once more.

He woke with a start. He was sprawled out on his couch, his arm in a position that, if he hadn't taken powerful medications beforehand, would be bothering him quite a bit right then.

Daisuke was standing over him. His hair was more mussed up than usual. "Hey, you alright?"

Tenzou lifted his good hand into the air and waved. "Yeah."

Daisuke looked uncharacteristically upset. "Why are you on the couch? What happened to your arm? Are these pills? How many did you take?"

"I don't know. I can't tell you. Yes." He paused. "And what was the last one?"

"How many pills did you take?"

It was hard for Tenzou to think back that far, but he managed it. "Two."

"It says on the label that you're only supposed to take  _one_  pill every  _six_  hours, you idiot. And it's highly addictive, too! What am I going to do with you? Here, let me help you up. Your sling is half-way off already..."

Tenzou pursed his lips. "What are you doing here? Ah, thanks."

"No problem. Try not to thrash around and it won't get so loose. And I'm here because Yumi and I have been worried sick about you. I got my hands on your file a few days ago and it said you were in the hospital. We couldn't visit because you were in the ICU. By the time we got some free time again, they said you'd already been discharged."

"I'm sorry?" he said weakly.

"We're just... worried. Anything could happen to you now. Before we were all here, together." Daisuke sighed and sat down on the free edge of the couch. "You've come a lot farther than both Yumi and me. I think you could even give Sensei a run for his money."

Tenzou shook his head with a pained smile. "He wouldn't like hearing that."

"But it's true. I know we're not supposed to know, but you're ANBU now. You're out risking your neck. All I'm doing is cracking codes up at the Tower. Still a chuunin, too. I'll be lucky to get a promotion by next year-ow!"

Tenzou had pinched him. "You're the best code-breaker I know. And didn't you pay attention in the Academy? The three of us all have our own strengths and weaknesses. We balance one another out. That's why we made- _make_  such a good team."

The door swung open casually and another voice joined the conversation: "Wise beyond his years."

Both Daisuke and Tenzou turned to look at the doorway, but Tenzou already knew who it was. He flushed. "Genma... nice to see you."

Genma gave a mock salute and stepped inside. Raidou and Hayate followed after him.

Daisuke gave Tenzou a curious look, but it dropped away from his face quickly, replaced with a casual look of understanding. "Well, I should probably get out of your hair." He checked his wristwatch for added show. "I have work in a bit. Can't be late."

Tenzou nodded. He wanted to say 'thank you' but instead said, "Tell Yumi I said 'hi'. And Sensei, too, if you see him."

Daisuke was already out the door, tilting his head politely to his superiors. He gave Tenzou a small wave and said, "I think they'd like it better if you said it in person."

Tenzou felt a weight drop in his stomach. He wanted to call Daisuke back and ask him to stay, but he was already out the door. A tangible silence hung in the air after that, his three new teammates looking uncomfortable. Even Genma, who he'd always considered a little shameless in his actions, was subdued.

Hayate chose to break the silence with a cough. "We apologize for our intrusion."

"The doctors are finally letting Kakashi accept visitors," said Raidou. "We thought you would like to join us."

Tenzou shifted and let out a tired breath. "I would."

Genma's nose wrinkled, as if finally catching a waft of something foul. "Remember that time when we visited and you were hungover and I told you to shower?"

Tenzou glared.

And subtly tried to sniff himself.

"Vaguely."

* * *

It was a difficult shower and a change of clothes later. Tenzou, Genma, Raidou and Hayate were back in at the Konoha Hospital.

It had taken a little coaxing for Tenzou to let Raidou fix his abysmal attempt at putting his sling back on after dressing himself, but had otherwise escaped the ordeal without much fuss. Now they were coasting back and forth outside of Kakashi's room, waiting for the nurse inside to finish her rounds.

He thought it was much too soon for him to be back in the hospital, but relished in the fact that he had free reign to leave whenever he wished. Not that his team would let him leave anytime soon, however. There was still that matter of  _visiting_ Kakashi.

The nurse emerged from the room. "Are you the party here to visit Hatake-san?"

Hayate stepped forward. "We were told he was well enough for visitors."

"He's just been asking after you all." She smiled. "Go on ahead."

"Good thing he is," said Genma wryly. "I don't think even she'd stop me from getting in there and kicking Kakashi's ass-begging your pardon, Miss."

The nurse blushed and scampered away toward the Nurses Station.

Raidou scoffed. "Play nice."

"I always do," said Genma with a wink.

Hayate sighed. "Let's go." He always sounded like a weary father berating his two misbehaving children.

Tenzou entered the room last. No flowers or cards of well-wishing were at Kakashi's bedside.

"You didn't bring flowers."

"What?" Tenzou blinked at Kakashi.

Raidou crossed his arms. "We didn't think you'd be here long enough as to require plants, Captain."

Kakashi waved his hand. "You can make this atrocious social faux-pas up to me next time."

The four men then settled into comfortable banter and Tenzou settled into one of the room's chairs. He didn't have the energy to join in today.

It took a few minutes of watching them interact before he noticed that Kakashi was devoid of his mask. He blamed his lack of attention on his pain medication and shifted in his seat to gain a better vantage point, hoping that none of them would notice his spying.

He'd assumed the mask was on at all time—and now that Kakashi was bare-faced, Tenzou could see why.

Kakashi was absolutely beautiful.  _Handsome_. Even with a nasty-looking purplish-green bruise across his otherwise very perfect jaw. There was no other way to put it.

A sudden wave of embarrassment overtook him and Tenzou looked away.

"Are you okay?" asked Genma, from Kakashi's beside. "You look a little red."

He nodded, still looking anywhere but Kakashi. "Y-yeah, I think my meds are wearing off. And, uh, I left my prescription at home. I think I should go home and get it."

Raidou looked between him and Kakashi, then rocked back when realization dawned on him. "You're not wearing your mask."

Kakashi touched his cheek, although Tenzou had a sneaking suspicion that he already knew that. "I'm not? I didn't notice."

Genma pointed at Tenzou. "And look what it's doing to Tenzou."

"He likes what he sees?" tried Kakashi. His tone was a strange mixture of amusement and exasperation; the latter probably born from years of similar incidents.

"Try again," Tenzou said sourly. The spark of anger gave him enough strength to face Kakashi. "Your personality clashes with your face, is all. You're... you're good-looking, okay?"

Kakashi looked as if he was about to retort with a usual barb, but instead shrugged loosely. "Thanks. Let's move on, though, shall we? I'm sure you all have some unanswered questions…"

They all nodded.

"The building…" Kakashi started. "I think it's plain to see that that was no accident."

Tenzou then recognized the look that was on Raidou's face earlier when they'd all been at his bedside the other day. It was guilt.

"And what had happened before it blew up…" Kakashi continued on, "Tenzou, can you remember?"

Tenzou furrowed his eyebrows, thinking hard. "I... no."

Kakashi shook his head, the look on his face unreadable. "Genma, Hayate, Raidou… can you give me and Tenzou a moment?"

"What the fuck for?" Genma asked.

Hayate pulled Genma arm. "Captain said so, that's why. Let's go."

Kakashi and Tenzou were the only ones left in the room once Genma, Hayate and Raidou had left as ordered.

"What I'm about to say… it stays here—between you and me—for now," Kakashi said. "The daimyo said something to you before you cut his head off. I need you to remember what that was."

"I don't understand," Tenzou said, feeling very small now that he no longer had the rest of his team next to him.

Kakashi shook his head again. "His index finger was cut off, Tenzou. The ring was gone. I don't have it."

Tenzou felt, right then, like his stomach dropped out of his body. He had assumed, this whole time, that Kakashi had retrieved the ring from the headless corpse. Was that why he had been so pissed during their walk back to Konoha?

"Fuck," murmured Tenzou.

"That's right," said Kakashi. "You chopped the daimyo's head off without thinking."

"I can't…" Tenzou's head was pounding. He was going to be sick. "I don't remember anything."

"We couldn't have been the only ones there that night, you said it yourself before you entered the villa. Not exactly in those words, but you asked me if I had seen something near the north entrance."

Tenzou felt his heart sink as his memory fluttered back to him in bits and pieces. "A… a bloody hand print. On the door. That's what I saw."

"Yes, I saw it, too," said Kakashi. "Didn't you stop to ask why he was covered in blood when your doppleganger was shielding him? Didn't you notice that his finger was missing when you chopped his head off?" Kakashi said. He did not sound angry. He sounded very cold and disappointed and it chilled Tenzou to the core.

"I didn't… I don't…" Tenzou stammered, knowing he made a series of horrible decision that night. The knowledge twisted his insides violently.

"Someone outsmarted us all, Tenzou," Kakashi said, smiling, but it was a very cold smile. "Someone wanted that ring. They knew the daimyo was going to die that night. They knew that Konoha was taking care of it. They also needed to get rid of the evidence—including us—and any knowledge that the ring had been taken at all. It was also someone that had no desire to do any of the dirty work lest they were caught in the act. But who?"

Tenzou couldn't bring himself to reply.

"I haven't starting thinking this whole thing through yet, I'll admit," Kakashi said. "Nevertheless, the Hokage needs to know at once and I'm giving you the opportunity to redeem yourself. When I dismiss you, go to the Hokage Tower straight away and tell the Sandaime exactly what I said, nothing more, nothing less."

"Yes, right away," Tenzou said. He hoped Kakashi would dismiss him right then, but it wasn't to be so. Kakashi continued on.

"Tenzou… when I first woke up in this hospital bed, I had every intention of telling you to pack your bags and go home. You should have told me about that handprint. It was a clear disregard of elementary ninja standards. If you didn't say anything then because you were afraid I would call you back… well, yes, I would have told you to come back straight away. I can't put my finger on it, but… there's something about you…"

Tenzou closed his eyes like he'd been punched. This was it, he thought. This was it. He felt his heart drop to his stomach and his palms break out into a clammy sweat. All the doubt that had been swimming in him the past week came swarming back tenfold. He had screwed up so badly. A million thoughts jumbled up in his tender head and knew deep down that there was nothing he could say to redeem himself.

"I want you to stay with my squad until I figure out what it is," Kakashi said finally.

Tenzou exhaled sharply and his eyes snapped open. He searched Kakashi's face to any hint or sign of a lie. "W-what?"

"Yup, I think I'll keep you."

"Kakashi… I… thank you…"

"Don't thank me just yet. And don't blame yourself for any of this, by the way. Whatever happened that night, we all should have paid more attention. We're ANBU, but we're still human. Now go and tell the Hokage my message. I still have a few chapters I want to finish," Kakashi said, pointing to that orange-covered book by his bedside.

Tenzou exited Kakashi's room as quick as he could.

Genma, Hayate and Raidou were waiting outside.

Tenzou gave them a strained smile, knowing at once what they're anxious expressions were asking. "I'm staying."

"Welcome to the team, Tenzou. Well, officially." Genma laughed.

Hayate nodded. "I believe you'll need to get your own armor and mask soon."

"Maybe  _celebrate_  once you're off medication," suggested Raidou.

Tenzou laughed along with them for a few minutes, knowing that if he had been accepted under different circumstances he would have been beyond elated, then slipped away down the hospital corridors while they weren't looking.

He still had to face the Hokage and deliver Kakashi's message. He felt a mixture of fear and absolute dread crept along the back of his neck at the thought. How had someone outsmarted them all?


	10. The Price of Friendship

Tenzou walked as fast as his battered body allowed to the Hokage Tower. He was glad Genma, Hayate and Raidou hadn't noticed that he'd given them the slip; he wasn't in the mood to explain why he was in a rush nor divulge the contents of Kakashi and his private discussion. As sour as his disposition was towards Kakashi, Kakashi had asked him to keep their conversation between them and the Sandaime only.

Why him? Tenzou thought. Why would Kakashi entrust him with this message and not the other teammates that he had known inextricable longer? Unless…

Tenzou shook his head, letting the thoughts tumble out of his mind immediately. It had never been voiced, but Tenzou knew that Kakashi trusted all his men to the highest degree. He could have told them; he should have told them. A thought formed in front of Tenzou then. Whether or not it was true was another matter entirely. If it was true, however, then Kakashi had just shielded him, Tenzou, from judgment by the rest of his team for his blunder. And Tenzou was grateful for it.

Tenzou made good time to the Tower. He walked down the corridor to the Sandaime's office, his footsteps echoing along the walls. The trepidation that he'd felt earlier in the week when he'd made a similar trip was nothing compared to what he felt now. If he was a weaker man, and not determined to redeem himself, he might have turned around and pretended Kakashi had told him nothing.

He marched through until he finally came to the lobby. The Hokage's assistant popped up from behind her desk and held a hand out. She had seen the determination etched on Tenzou's face and knew by his walk that he had no intentions of stopping to announce himself or make an appointment.

"Um, excuse me-? Sir?"

Tenzou paused briefly. "I need to see the Hokage right away."

"I understand, but you need to make an appointment. You can't just walk into his—"

The oak doors to the Sandaime's office slid open with a loud click. The Hokage himself stood there in the doorway, looking pleasantly surprised to see Tenzou and his assistant bickering. Tenzou felt that, contrary to the Sandaime's expression, the Hokage had been waiting for him.

"Tenzou... I'm glad to see that you are out and about. Please, step inside. A little bird sent word that you might be coming by."

He waved Tenzou in genially. The Sandaime sat behind his desk and swept a hand at the chair where he expected Tenzou to sit down. Tenzou did as he was bid and sat down. His ribs were aching now and a dull throb pulsed at his temple.

"Thank you, Pakkun," the Sandaime said.

Tenzou hadn't noticed it before, but a squat little pug was sitting on the corner of the Sandaime's desk. He knew at once that he was Kakashi's nin-dog that had went to their aid after their mission. Pakkun nodded, a scroll gripped tightly in his maw, and jumped out the window.

"Now," the Sandaime said, "Kakashi said you have important information for me."

Tenzou swallowed thickly. He told the Sandaime everything that Kakashi had passed to him and he made no attempt to leave out Kakashi's criticism of his actions during the mission.

It felt like hours had passed before the Sandaime said anything.

"This is indeed grave news," he said. "And you're sure his ring was gone?"

"Yes, sir," Tenzou said. "His finger was gone."

"Hmmm… we have enjoyed peace for many years now, Tenzou. I'm afraid some might not be enjoying this period as much as we."

"Sir… are you saying…?"

"That this was the beginning of a mass murder of all the Feudal Lords in Fire in a bid to start another conflict? No, not at all… but there is definitely something amiss. Until we get to the bottom of this, I'm afraid I will have to ask you to let this incident out of your mind."

"Whoever is behind this tried to kill me and my team!" Tenzou said fiercely and much louder than he had meant to. Tenzou flushed immediately and stammered out an apology.

The Sandaime waved it away. Tenzou had expected the Sandaime to be furious at his outburst, but he looked very pleased. "Before I let you go back home, please give me the pleasure of recounting a small anecdote."

Tenzou, knowing he really had no choice in the matter, stayed silent.

"Months ago, perhaps before you had even made up your mind about the whole thing, your teacher came to me and confided in me that you were planning to apply to ANBU. I asked him to discourage you from these ambitions. I advised him of such because, please understand, that I have grown quite fond of you. Yes, the last time you stood in this very office you made quite an impression on me and I have followed your career in passing ever since…"

Tenzou turned over the Sandaime's words as they rang through the office. If the Sandaime was fond of him, then he should have wanted to foster Tenzou's skill and ANBU seemed to him the next logical step. Why would he have wanted to discourage him from pursuing this? Tenzou looked up at the Hokage and waited patiently for him to continue on, knowing that he hadn't yet been dismissed and hoping that this anecdote wouldn't bring another blow to his pride.

"Yes, I had asked your sensei when you were first assigned to his team to give me updates on your progress. As such, I knew that your genjutsu, taijutsu and ninjutsu were well above your teammates'. I also knew that your team-building skills were very poor… practically nonexistent. If you were planning to join ANBU, you needed to excel in the very attribute you so clearly did not possess. You will come to realize—very soon, I dare say—that there is extreme isolation in the ANBU corps, but that you will rely on your teammates more heavily than anywhere else. Forgive me, Tenzou, but I didn't think that you could cut it…"

The Sandaime looked into Tenzou's eyes with a piercing gaze. "You were the very ninja the ANBU would be looking for—thorough, consistent, and exceptional in every way. However, I knew your sensei's recommendations would be very poor. I'm sure you might have had your suspicions, but your sensei was quite a decorated war hero. We both agreed that in a conventional ANBU team you wouldn't last. Then, one night, when I was reviewing your application… a flash of inspiration struck me. There had been a squad without a member for a very long time, as the spot had been near impossible to fill. The captain was unreasonably picky and had chosen a superficially mismatched team in the eyes of the corps handlers, yet they were the best on paper. Can you begin to think of whom I am referring?"

"Kakashi," Tenzou said at once. There was no need for hesitation.

"Yes. Kakashi. You may find this surprising, but he regards teamwork very highly. I thought that, perhaps, if I put someone that was very much like him—"

"Hokage-sama, you just said that my teamwork sucks…"

"Why, yes, I did," the Sandaime said kindly. "Were you born able to control your chakra? Throw a shuriken perfectly on target?"

"No, sir," Tenzou murmured.

"Exactly. You had to learn how, in the Academy, just like you were to learn teamwork with your genin teams," the Sandaime explained. "Kakashi has paid the price to know the value of true friendship. You have shown yourself to be every bit of ninja you had aspired to be. Don't let your heart be your greatest weakness..."

The room crackled with an unknown energy. Tenzou could not describe the feelings that welled up in him like a tide. What had the Sandaime meant, that Kakashi had paid the price?

"You, too, have suffered… at the hands of Orochimaru and because of my negligence," the Sandaime said after a long moment, his voice full of sadness. "I would like very much for you to not suffer any more."

Tenzou felt exposed, his aching head swimming from the admission of the Sandaime.

When he had first been accepted to the team, the Hokage had made it seem like he'd been gunning for Tenzou—like someone else had been the stopping point, but it was the Hokage himself that had been the one trying to hold him back, because of his habit of distancing himself from his team. The only reason he was even considered for ANBU was because the most awkward team needed a filler and the Sandaime thought Tenzou could try to plug up the hole.

If the Sandaime were to have told him this before his first mission, he would have flared up with anger, maybe even snipped back and tried to defend himself. Now? Now that he his clear disregard for teamwork had resulted in a botched mission, broken ribs, a dislocated arm and a teammate that had been knocking on death's door, Tenzou knew that the Sandaime and his sensei's observations were indeed quite correct.

He had sacrificed safety in order to get the mission done—then he hadn't even accomplished the mission. The ring was missing, the daimyo was dead and they would never know who had taken the ring from him.

Tenzou smiled awkwardly. "This hasn't been my most shining moment, Hokage-sama…"

"Mm, let it be a lesson learned. Go home and get some rest."

* * *

"Boomer, calling Bravo Team."

"Ranger is in position, over," Hayate whispered.

"Parrot. Ready to move," Genma said.

Tenzou adjusted his earpiece.  _This is_ such  _bullshit._  "This is Whiskers. Can you hear me, over?"

"Loud and clear, Whiskers, over," Boomer, call sign for Raidou, crackled over the radio.

Three weeks had passed by, rather uneventfully, since Tenzou's official acceptance into Squad Number 024, his conversation with Kakashi and his private meeting with the Hokage.

His shoulder had healed in two week's time; it took another week to get it fully functional, and his ribs had stopped giving him trouble just a little bit after that. Rehabilitation for a shinobi tended to be much shorter than an average civilian's-especially when they disregarded strict medical advice-and Tenzou was thankful that this was true.

He'd missed being efficient, even if this efficiency had him heavily entrenched in mud at the moment. Sitting at home with the occasional visit from his old team peppered with his new had only cemented his theory that he was meant to be out and killing people. Definitely not cooped up and snuggling with his cat (because he hadn't spent a few good days doing that  _at all_ ).

During Kakashi's extended stay in the hospital (naturally low chakra reserves coupled with poor medical practice upon first receiving his injuries had kept him bedridden for a touch longer than Tenzou had thought "shinobi normal") he'd slowly become acclimated to ANBU life.

True to procedure, Tenzou was given an appointment to acquire his own equipment. Hayate had accompanied him to the custom armor fitting as soon as Tenzou had been ready, for which Tenzou was thankful. As young as Hayate was, his skill in weapon- and armor-making surpassed even those twice his age. The unfortunate part was that he had been told it would take a decent metalworker a while to complete all the guards, so he'd had to continue using the loaned equipment until then.

Tenzou had worried that he might not actually live to  _see_ his chest guard but, surprisingly enough, the infamous life he'd heard so much about turned out to be... not much different than his regular routine. He had more reason to be discreet with what he said and to whom, of course, and mind-numbing paperwork was a rare affair. But life continued on as normally as it had before.

At first, Tenzou was slighted at the notion that he wasn't going to be put in potentially lethal peril every other day. When he'd casually brought this grievance up with his teammates, they'd reassured him that it was simply the absence of Kakashi on the roster that had them working to a quarter of their ability. Tenzou wasn't sure if the case was such because Kakashi's skill was  _so great_ and unparalleled or because their numbers were imbalanced. It wasn't as if Kakashi had done much the first mission, anyway. He'd spent more time flipping pages of his book.

In either case, the Sandaime had the team doing the grunt work of the ANBU missions. It was mostly ghost reconnaissance, which took effort in keeping quiet and retrieving information without killing anyone important and not much else. Raidou, being the unofficial co-captain, had ascended to temporary captain. He was an efficient leader, just like Kakashi had been, but the team dynamic felt different somehow.

Obviously, Tenzou thought. Raidou wasn't half the sadist that Kakashi was.

Their team was currently on another surveillance run. Their fourth in the past week, to be specific. Some bad blood was beginning to boil between Earth Country and Fire again, with Waterfall stuck between the espionage and fumbling diplomatic outreaches. Tenzou wanted badly to tell the rest of his team about the missing feudal lord ring, but knew it would have been unwise.

It was beginning to feel like the last war all over again—not that he really remembered that period with much clarity. Raidou and Genma often became uncomfortable whenever anyone mentioned this, however. Their reaction reminded Tenzou of the years between them that was normally ignored.

Thankfully, it was clear that the Sandaime was against agitating the Hidden Rock further. Rumors spread around the village that the council thought him radical for suggesting they extend a hand in friendship. Tenzou didn't see the merit in actually  _wanting_ war. Even though it  _was_  ultimately his duty to follow whatever his commander said, be it bringing harm to those he considered innocent, or disposing of those who were tangible threats. It was the shinobi way. But actively pursuing this just didn't seem right.

"A half-witted chuunin could pull this off," Genma grumbled.

" _Some_  of us are still chuunin," Tenzou whispered.

Raidou's voice crackled over the system. "Quiet. I see the convoy coming over the ridge. Ranger, do you copy?"

"Yes, I copy. According to our intelligence, the target should have a… goatee."

"Can I get a scan?" Raidou prompted.

Tenzou pressed his fingers together in a familiar seal and focused on his doppelganger, which he'd melded subtly into the forestation an hour previous. The group they'd been waiting for was now heading straight towards it.

Doppelganger-vision was always a little muddled the first few seconds, but Tenzou quickly noted that, "They  _all_ have goatees."

"Fuck," was Raidou's initial verdict. "Do not engage any unnecessary targets and  _please_ do not to eliminate any."

"Roger," Genma said.

A tense moment ensued, wherein Tenzou chewed the inside of his cheek and wondered what new plan Raidou was formulating. Their  _initial_  plan had been to casually separate their target from the rest of his traveling companions. Apparently he carried a document important enough that the Sandaime had called in an ANBU squad to retrieve it. Now that their only identifying mark was gone, any of the seven travelers could be their man.

"I can neutralize them in the next minute," Tenzou supplied.

"Tie them down and ransack them? I always knew I liked you," Genma said.

Hayate, always the voice of reason, spoke next: "We would need a high-level genjutsu initially."

"And our best genjutsu-user is conveniently out of the picture." Raidou sounded more amused than frustrated.

Tenzou surveyed his surroundings. He was the nearest to the convoy and, unless they changed course all of a sudden, was in the best position to sweep them. They also had enough nighttime cover that, if he was fast enough, worked just as well as an illusion. "I can do it."

The silence over the intercom didn't make him feel any better about himself, but he knew he could pull it off.

"Make your move. We'll follow."

"Going in now." Tenzou took a deep breath to calm himself. The travelers looked tired, but in high spirits. And they were taking their sweet him in getting to him. If they had any inkling as to what Tenzou had in store for them, they were awfully good actors.

The man leading the group was talking animatedly. Tenzou could only make out little snippets of what they were talking about, but it sounded like they were discussing the newest popstar from River Country.

Tenzou breathed deeply once again. His heart was pumping rapidly—if he screwed this up he'd never be able to face the judgmental eyes of Bucket ever again. On the exhale, he vaulted from his position, already forming the seals for his mokuton jutsu.

A wall of wood shot up in front of the travelers. Dirt and cries filled the air.

Tenzou was already delivering the second guy in line a nasty jab to a pressure point when the wall broke off into separate spindles. In seconds, the convoy went from raving about a new hit single to being tied down by wood. The last man awake sported an awful handlebar mustache, Tenzou noted with some disdain.

He touched his fingers to the man's neck—it was always awful when they struggled—and slowly let a bit of chakra put him out completely. It was a trick his sensei had taught him a while ago. A little bit of chakra at a certain point disrupted short-term memory for a period lasting an hour or so.

Tenzou had his hands deep in the pocket of Handlebar-Mustache-Man when the rest of his team landed gracefully around the ring of unconscious bodies. Hayate broke off from them, presumably to help him search for the document.

Genma gave him a casual thumbs-up. "This must be the fifth time I've seen wood spontaneously burst from the ground. And it still hasn't got old."

"I've found it," Hayate said. He was holding up a dingy-looking scroll. The only point of interest on it was a bright-red seal wax and the official seal of Hidden Rock.

"What should we do with these guys?" Genma prodded another unconscious fellow with his sandal.

The man sighed softly, but didn't stir.

Tenzou released the bindings holding the men. "My chakra memory-wipe should have taken care of anything they saw of us. If we build a faux campfire and prop them up, they'll probably just think they got really, really drunk and passed out."

Raidou placed his hands on his hips and sighed. "Everything was easier when we just killed people."

Hayate coughed.

Genma just said, "Hear, hear."

* * *

The sun was just breaking over the horizon when Tenzou was roused from sleep. Something soft-then wet and kind of whisker-like-was rubbing against his cheek with much vigor. Then came the small paws against his bare shoulders. And then the claws not-so-gently digging into them. Tenzou groaned and pulled his hand out from under the covers to give Bucket a lazy scratch between the ears.

Considering the fact that Tenzou had been out for the better part of twenty-four hours (because Bucket was too much of a lazy ass to find himself a meaty mouse to chomp on), he was probably very hungry.

"I just got home a few hours ago. Have mercy."

Bucket meowed.

"Five more minutes," he pleaded.

But Bucket wasn't having any of it and gave his earlobe a sharp nip.

Tenzou finally got up, very reluctantly, and went through the motions of morning without being fully aware. By the time he'd downed his second cup of coffee he'd showered, brushed his teeth, fed Bucket, and dressed himself for a morning of hopefully not doing much of anything. Not fifteen minutes after drinking said coffee he'd crawled back under the covers, his curtains still very much open, and promptly slept until noon.

All his life he'd never been much of a heavy sleeper, but a week of near-active duty ANBU had him dozing through even the loudest racket, and at the oddest hours of the day. Sleep deprivation was standard practice in a shinobi's lifetime, but never before had Tenzou fully appreciated the daytime nap.

Once he finally woke up, the sunlight was pouring directly into his room. The memory of waking up to a pounding headache came forefront in his mind, but Tenzou was absolutely positive Genma wasn't going to materialize at his bedroom door. To be safe, though, he turned his head and looked. It was empty.

He heaved a sigh of relief. "Thank god."

He just didn't have the strength for that today.

He rolled on to his back and just out of the corner of his eye saw a black blur shoot across his windowpane. He sprang up and pressed his face against the glass. Whatever had passed by was long gone. Tenzou rubbed his eyes in disbelief.

_I'm losing my mind…_


	11. An Intervention

"Is that all?"

Tenzou blinked at the cashier. "What?"

The cashier popped her gum and made a sweeping gesture at the bags of groceries currently at her till. "Anything else?"

"No."

"Cool. It'll be 4469 ryo."

"Thanks." Tenzou laid out several bills on the counter and gathered up his bags. "Keep the change."

It seemed as if it'd been years since Tenzou had last been amongst the village crowd. The isolation the Hokage had talked about during their meeting weeks ago had set in, and quickly.

After several weeks of being home to recover from his injuries and rotating missions and sleeping, he'd begun to wonder if he would ever be seen out in the streets again.

The grocery bags' handles dug into his fingers as he walked; he was being heckled left and right to buy knick-knacks, and he stopped every so often to see something that had caught his eye. Tenzou normally would not have done so, but it felt good to be out. Konoha had never felt more like home than it did now.

Everything was perfect. Except, he noted, for the fact that he was currently doing grocery and mail runs for one Hatake Kakashi. Tenzou frowned, his sunny mood clouding over at the thought.

Even though Raidou had taken over Kakashi's spot as captain until he was in better health, Kakashi was still the squad's official captain. So every mission they had been on had required them (read: Tenzou) to give the real captain an informal briefing, as well as loads and loads of paperwork. Being the rookie of the team definitely hadn't worked in Tenzou's favor.

No one else could be bothered to go to Kakashi's place after every mission and ring the doorbell for a good fifteen minutes before he'd managed to open up. Raidou was always in deep reconciliations with... Miki? Momo? Nana? Tenzou swore her name changed every time. Genma was usually gone by the time Tenzou turned around to ask him to go in his stead. Hayate had gotten out of it by simply looking at him with sad, disappointed eyes.

And, in true Kakashi fashion, the simple mission briefings had been twisted so that Tenzou was made to buy Kakashi's groceries and pick up his mail every time. It hadn't yet escalated to him doing the man's laundry. _Yet._

Tenzou knew he should have argued more when he'd been told to run errands, but the more he mulled over the words he had with the Sandaime, the more guilty he felt.

Just as he was about to turn down the street towards Kakashi's apartment complex, he caught a glimpse of orange leg-warmers and green spandex. While he'd only talked to Gai a few times before, Tenzou found that he liked the man well enough. But only in small doses. And when he wasn't daydreaming about wrapping his fingers around Kakashi's (perfect) throat. Because Tenzou had learned that although Gai had professed him and Kakashi to be rivals there seemed to be a distinct absence of negative feelings on both sides.

Tenzou was slowly inching backwards when Gai caught sight of him.

"Tenzou, you are frowning, yet it is such a delightful day! Youth is not meant to appear so bereaved!"

Tenzou was momentarily blinded by Gai's smile. "Bereaved? Who died?"

"Your happiness!" cried Gai with much enthusiasm.

"Yeah, it's like a kunai has been right here all day." Tenzou tapped his fist against his chest, the bags of groceries bouncing off his stomach.

"I sense that Kakashi is the root of your woes."

"Well," Tenzou started tentatively. He didn't want to badmouth Kakashi in front of his most...  _enthusiastic_  rival. "This is the third time he's made me buy his groceries this week. My fingers have permanent groove marks from the bags."

Gai nodded, then extended his hand. "Allow me to carry a few bags for you."

"Oh, thanks," Tenzou said sheepishly.

"Ah, these bags are of a lovely weight! I had been on my way to Kakashi's humble abode when I saw Suzume-san and  _had_ to stop for a chat."

"Suzume-san?"

"Yes! The kind-hearted woman from the teahouse across the street."

"You mean the one that always goes ' _what?!_ ' whenever I ask for green tea? And brings me pork dumplings no matter what I order?"

"Ha ha. What a joker, she is! She appears to possess a very youthful spirit."

"More like she is deaf and senile," mumbled Tenzou under his breath.

"Pardon, I did not hear you?" yelled Gai.

Tenzou looked off to the side. "Nothing, nothing."

Too much optimism was going to kill him some day. Luckily, Tenzou had learned the art of tuning things out many years ago.

Gai continued regaling him with stories all the way to the stairs to Kakashi's apartment. "It appears that we have arrived."

"Looks that way," Tenzou said, getting Gai's half of the groceries back. "Aren't you coming up?"

"My presence would only impede on your time with Kakashi-"

"Um, that's not a problem, really."

"-but it would please me greatly if you would take him this scroll in my stead."

Tenzou sighed and he knew he was going to be alone for the rest of the trip. "Slip it into the bag with the milk carton."

Gai did as was request of him and left after a few more boisterous and overexagerated words of well-wishing.

Tenzou had never been sadder to see Gai go.

He titled his head back and closed his eyes. After this, he would go home and take another nap. The last mission had worn him out thoroughly and he felt like he still hadn't recovered. He rolled his shoulders forwards and backwards, suddenly feeling much older than his sixteen years. There was a distinctive knot that had settled in between his neck and shoulder ever since his dislocation.

Climbing the four flights to Kakashi's apartment wasn't a big deal, but each step gave him a deeper sense of dread than before. The apartment building was very much the same as his own, but it seemed colder and shoddier in comparison; it smelled like someone was burning plastic on the second floor today. There were several cracks in the walls and holes that looked as if they were made from kunai peppered the floor.

Finally, he reached Kakashi's apartment-404-and rang the doorbell. Being polite and ringing only once or twice had had him sitting cross-legged by Kakashi's welcome mat (which said 'no parking') for a good thirty minutes. He kept his finger on the button for a straight minute, leaning forward heavily as if the pressure would bring forth the occupant any faster. As he waited for it to open, he slipped his sandals off. He was still going to be polite.

The door creaked open, revealing a very sleepy-looking Kakashi.

"I had to run around the village  _twice_ to find the dog treats you'd asked me for," Tenzou said in greeting.

Kakashi gave him a lazy smile. "I knew you could do it."

Tenzou shouldered past Kakashi, already familiar with the routine. The first time he'd been there, Kakashi hadn't even bothered inviting him in properly. Tenzou had stood outside his captain's apartment, holding folders of paperwork and a milk carton, looking like a complete idiot, before he worked up the nerve to ask to be let in.

He made his way into the kitchen and placed the grocery bags onto the kitchen island.

Kakashi followed him into the kitchen. He walked more stiffly than before—an obvious testament to the injuries he'd sustained weeks ago. "You seem crankier than usual."

"I'm not cranky," shot back Tenzou as he opened the refrigerator and began transferring the groceries over.

Kakashi sat down on his creaky barstool, content with just watching Tenzou do all the work.

"Don't lift a finger to help or anything, sempai."

"Don't worry, I won't." Kakashi tapped his fingers against the island.

"I ran into Gai on my way here."

"Mm?"

"Yeah," Tenzou said. He pulled the scroll Gai had slipped into the grocery bag out and handed it to Kakashi. "He told me to give you this."

"I wonder what it says." He gave Tenzou an accusatory look.

"It's a list of all the reasons why he hates you, clearly." Tenzou sat on the barstool opposite Kakashi. "Don't look at me like that. I didn't open it."

"And it's a punishable offense if you did."

Tenzou rolled his eyes. "We're ninja. We look at people's mail all the time."

"True." Kakashi ran a thumb under the scroll seal. "How is the team?"

Tenzou lifted his shoulders in a half-shrug. He handed Kakashi the rest of the paperwork he had brought along with him. "Same old. I think Raidou is getting back together with... Miki."

Kakashi looked up from the scroll. "Wasn't it Ami?"

"Your guess is as good as mine." Tenzou bit into his bottom lip lightly. "Genma... I don't know, same as usual, I guess. But sources close to me tell me Hayate is dating Uzuki Yuugao now."

Kakashi nodded, still looking over the documents. "She's the one with the-" He made a vague gesture.

"Yeah, the one with the-"

"Yeah."

It was moments like this that made Tenzou want desperately to leave. The brief moments of amicability they shared felt so  _wrong_. Sure, Kakashi still hadn't changed much. He was still rude and untimely and made his subordinates run stupid errands and then didn't help with unpacking the lettuce and tomatoes. But now, sometimes, he looked at Tenzou like they were just two people—teammates, friends-or said things that were so painfully normal that it didn't actually make sense in the world Tenzou had created for them both. He was in Kakashi's kitchen, sitting on a barstool, as if he'd been doing it for years. They'd just had a conversation that passed as borderline polite.

It was only natural that his hackles were up.

"Um, can I have some water?"

"Help yourself," Kakashi said.

One thing was for sure: Kakashi would not make a good host. Tenzou already knew where the glasses were-the cupboard above the microwave-and poured himself a glass of water. He downed the glass quickly and contemplated pouring himself another. It would be a perfect excuse to snoop around Kakashi's bathroom. Finding something embarrassing would probably be the highlight of his month. His lips turned up in a small smile.

"Something funny?"

"Hm? Not really. I was just thinking that you had really nice... cups."

Kakashi gave him a look that seemed to say ' _you're a freak_ '.

Tenzou sat back down, thoughts of bathroom escapades currently squashed under the weight of Kakashi's gaze.

Long, awkward silences were all the rage, it seemed. Tenzou fiddled with the hem of his shirt.

"How much do you know about gardening?"

_What is he on about now?_  Tenzou swallowed thickly. "Uh... enough to not kill the plants?" He thought forlornly of the box of dead plants hanging outside his windowsill at the moment. Of course, Kakashi would never know he lied.

Kakashi put the paperwork to the side. He was in business mode. "A mission is coming up in a few weeks that requires shinobi well-versed in horticulture. It's a two-man undercover bodyguard request from the Moon Temple. I've been given the task of assembling those I think would be a qualified fit-"

"And you thought of me?" Shock and awe. He was in shock and awe.

Kakashi looked a touch exasperated. "Your name came up."

"I'm—well…" He was touched. There was no other way to put it. "I know how to make plants and trees and stuff, but I'd be lost if you stuck me in a greenhouse."

"Trust me, you aren't my first choice. We  _do_  have a ninja that owns a flower shop, you know? However, as circumstances are, you're a competent shinobi with a jutsu I believe the village will find beneficial."

Tenzou crossed his arms across his chest. "Aw, sempai, now you're just buttering me up."

"I have lollipops in the candy bowl if that will sweeten the pot."

"Give me the detail sheet and I'll think about it." Tenzou frowned, scanning over the scroll but not really taking anything it said in. "You said it's undercover, right? I mean… you're not really conspicuous. The hair and the eye kind of give it away. Everyone and their cousin twice removed knows the description of Sharingan Kakashi."

Kakashi smiled faintly, like Tenzou had said was a private joke. "You would be surprised. I can be convincingly  _covert_  when I need to be. It's not supposed to be that kind of mission anyway…"

"What, the infamous Copy Ninja wielding a pair of gardening shears?"

"Hm, did I hear infamous?" replied Kakashi, cupping the back of his ear and leaning forward.

"Stuff it."

The next half-hour passed by remarkably fast with Tenzou summarizing the already summarized report and giving small details that hadn't been included, but thought the captain should know anyway. It was strange how easy it was to talk to Kakashi once he relaxed against all verbal abuse.

The sun was setting outside before Tenzou realized how long he'd been sitting in Kakashi's kitchen, shooting the breeze. He made a show of glancing around the clock-less kitchen. "I should probably go."

"Right," said Kakashi with a wistful sigh that Tenzou knew was all too faked. "You're not crippled like your poor captain is."

Tenzou snorted. "My favorite shuriken says you're faking."

He got up from the barstool and made his way to the front door, hoping that hooligans hadn't stolen his sandals while he'd been inside.

Kakashi followed slowly behind him and leaned against the hallway as Tenzou unlocked and opened the door.

"Here," Kakashi said, handing Tenzou the mission scroll he'd been reading earlier. "It's all coded, so…"

Tenzou shrugged. "I was going to stay home all day anyway."

Kakashi nodded. "For what it's worth, this is me asking a favor from you. This is a strictly off-ANBU mission, so don't feel obliged to accept just because I asked. Just think about it."

Tenzou looked at Kakashi curiously. It was the first time that Kakashi had ever explained his actions. He wasn't too sure what to make of it. Instead, he simply said, "I will."

For some odd reason, Tenzou had a strange feeling that he'd live to regret that statement.

* * *

"And these are... tulips?"

"Roses. They're roses," Yumi said, her voice heavy with agitation. "How did you ever survive sixteen years not being able to tell the difference between tulips and roses? Honestly!"

"Well, excuse me-"

Daisuke slapped his palm over Tenzou's mouth. "What Tenzou is trying to say is that the classes we took in the Academy had drastically different curricula. 'Boys, here, play with some firecrackers; girls, bat your eyelashes and arrange a bouquet.' And did we all forget that Tenzou has no common sense?"

Tenzou encircled his fingers around Daisuke's wrist, briefly contemplated squeezing down with breaking force, but decided that Daisuke had assaulted him with only good intentions. He pulled Daisuke's hand away. "I know you two are trying to help," he said, "but it's not working."

The mission Kakashi had asked him to take required extensive espionage skill. While Tenzou was not widely experienced in this ninja aspect, he'd fared well in his qualifications and had a number of completed espionage missions under his belt. What was making him sweat was that the mission called for someone with extensive plant knowledge as well.

Needless to say, Tenzou had none. Which is why he had gone, practically on his hands and knees, to ask Yumi to help him the day after Kakashi had asked him to take the mission. Surprises of all surprises: she'd accepted, and he'd been under her special brand of torture ever since. Two weeks had passed under her tutelage and Tenzou had to admit that nothing was sticking with him.

He had another week to officially accept the mission; a fortnight after accepting and he'd be off pruning plants with Kakashi.

"If you put your big brain to it, you could learn the basics in a day. You're resisting, and I really can't fathom why," Yumi said. In one hand she had a potted plant-where it came from, Tenzou didn't know. The stems were long and upright, with vibrant yellow petals surrounding equally yellow cup-shaped centers. She held out the flowers slowly. "Now, what do you think these are?"

"I'm not actually retarded." Tenzou gritted his teeth in frustration. "You know that, right?"

Yumi leveled him with a glare. "Don't change the subject."

Daisuke put a comforting hand on Tenzou's shoulder. "It's okay if you don't know. We'll still respect you tomorrow."

Yumi raised a prim eyebrow.

"I'll still respect you tomorrow," Daisuke amended.

Tenzou looked at Yumi, then Daisuke. Someone or other once had said that you could tell a man's character by those he surrounded himself with. Tenzou couldn't be one-hundred percent positive, but he was beginning to think he was a grade-A jackass.

"Get on with it," Yumi snapped. "You got this."

* * *

Dusk was Tenzou's favorite time of the day. Tonight, the horizon shimmered a pale purple that bled upwards into a dark navy blue. The clouds looked heavy, but the telltale storm atmosphere was absent.

What spurred him to seek solitude to think were the heavy horticulture books Yumi had advised him to study and learn. They'd sat on his kitchen table, mocking him. Even when he'd moved to the living room, he could still see them, calling his name and taunting him. He'd hurried out of his apartment before any harm, like coffee stains or Bucket being unleashed upon them, befell those books. They were on loan and he knew Yumi would wreck havoc on him if he ruined them.

He was perched atop the same random shop building that he had lounged atop a little more than a month ago, before he'd met with the Hokage to receive the news of his acceptance into ANBU, before he'd met Squad 024. He felt as if, at any moment, his old sensei would slither up behind him and tell him to get a move on.

Tenzou knew deep down somewhere that Sensei wouldn't come, though. His insides clenched painfully. He hadn't felt so put out in years. It was a very strange feeling. He was glad the genin chapter of his life was complete. He no longer had to be one corner of a mismatched triangle, yet he couldn't shrug the horrible feeling every time he thought of his old sensei, or Daisuke and Yumi.

_'Don't let your heart be your greatest weakness…'_

The Sandaime's words were still as confusing today as they had been a month ago. Tenzou had taken the words to heart, even if he wasn't entirely sure what they had meant.

Tenzou had never meant to turn his back on his team. This week was the first time that the three of them had spent quality hours with one another in a very long time. It wasn't for lack of free time on their parts, either. Tenzou had simply been spending most of his time with Raidou, Hayate, Genma. And Kakashi. Acknowledging this fact might have hurt less a month ago, but a month ago he did not know how truly, honestly good he had it.

Before, he had bemoaned the fact that he was less than what his ten-year plan stated he wanted to be. Before, he'd ignored Daisuke's invites to hang out, blown him off or pushed him aside for "bigger and better" endeavors, when he should have helped foster Daisuke's self-confidence. Before, he'd seen only Yumi's abrasive attitude when he should have looked past it and seen someone who needed friendship.

His change of heart unnerved him. The shell he'd surrounded himself with to deal with never fitting in, never knowing his past and knowing very distinctly that he never would, was beginning to slough off. There had been protection in cynicism and sarcasm, in being mean and awkward and allowing himself to pretend people didn't understand him. Now, he knew that they could.

Black and red, spinning together, flashed in his mind. It made him tremble and he hadn't a clue as to why.

"I thought you didn't do rooftop brooding."

Tenzou jerked in surprise and nearly brained himself on the billboard next to him. "Kakashi?" he cried in surprise. His voice had cracked on the second syllable. Embarrassing.

Kakashi seemed to take the exclamation of his name as an invitation to join Tenzou. He sat down, showing no sign that he'd been put under strict doctor's orders to stay home and rest. "Have you been crying?"

"I don't  _cry_ ," Tenzou murmured.

"Don't be too hasty about that. I distinctly remember seeing tears when I reintroduced your shoulder to your socket."

"I'd just survived an exploding building. You're allowed  _tears of_   _pain_  when you survive exploding buildings." Tenzou felt like saying more, to expand upon the snippy conversation, but smartly kept his mouth closed.

In the two weeks that had passed since Kakashi had requested Tenzou be his mission partner, their relationship had settled into a dull routine, complete with the obligatory push-and-pull of conversation.

The grocery runs had continued as well, even though the doctor's had admitted that Kakashi was far enough in his recovery to carry light loads. Tenzou had stared at the freshly-typed note, overcome with a foreign feeling he now could now name as disappointment. Kakashi had taken the note from Tenzou's hand, crumpled it and tossed it into the trash bin. "You know where the good dog treats are," he'd said and the routine had continued.

Tenzou had shrugged it off as a matter of convenience. He would have had to rearrange his entire, albeit skimpy, schedule; no longer play with Kakashi's nin-dogs, who liked him better than their lazy master; or accompany Kakashi to the laundromat to help him with the hauling of clothing. It worked out well. It certainly helped with the team bonding, Tenzou had to admit. He didn't find himself detesting Kakashi's company, and the animosity he'd always felt was reciprocated had vanished.

Even so, Tenzou felt as if they were in limbo. Not enemies, but they were no Genma and Raidou tag-team. Comfortable enough around one another, but only for so long. There was always a point where Tenzou felt deep in his bones that he  _had_ to be free of Kakashi's presence. It was like he felt a creeping, crawling sensation up the back of his spine every time he looked at Kakashi for too long.

"See anything interesting out there?" Kakashi asked amicably.

"I wasn't really looking." Tenzou turned his gaze away from Kakashi to Konoha.

The glow from the lamp posts cast everything in a sickly yellow hue. His navy blue pants looked green and his toenails looked like they needed fungal cream. He could almost imagine how sallow his skin must seem. Kakashi, in contrast, looked immaculately cool.

Tenzou waited for the jealousy to crash over him, but it didn't come. It never came these days. What that meant, Tenzou was not entirely sure. Tenzou turned away again and fixed his eyes on the building across the street.

"You're quiet tonight," Kakashi said.

"Maybe you're rubbing off on me?" Tenzou replied.

Kakashi smirked. "Nah."

"I guess… I was just thinking, earlier. Before you showed up," Tenzou blurted out and the word vomit just came coming. "As much as it pains me to admit this… I feel like I can trust you, sempai. I guess… I guess I'm having a moment of self-doubt."

"Everyone does," said Kakashi sympathetically.

"Maybe, but it's not every day that doubt is confirmed," he replied, looking morosely at his intertwined fingers. "After you so nicely roasted my ass at the hospital, when I delivered your message… well, my application was almost disapproved."

"How do you know?" asked Kakashi. If he knew this already, his face betrayed nothing.

"Sempai, the Hokage told me so himself," said Tenzou. A shy blush blossomed on his cheeks as he admitted this to his captain. "He put me on the team as a last resort. I've been waiting for a chance to join the corps for a long, long time. A dream, if you want to call it that. It really… means a lot to me that you gave me a chance."

Kakashi was silent, his one eye regarding Tenzou with such heavy emotion that Tenzou felt like he could barely look, but he couldn't bring himself to look away either. It was almost the same expression that had been dancing across Kakashi's face in the firelight, when he had put Tenzou to sleep with the Sharingan. Tenzou bit his lip as some unmistakable tension passed between him and the Copy Ninja. The creeping feeling was back, prickling heavily along the backs of his arms.

"Right. Well, I've been thinking about the mission," Tenzou said in a bid to change the course of their conversation. "A lot, actually. I even went to Yumi and Daisuke-they're my teammates, from before. For help on the gardening aspect."

"And?" asked Kakashi, his expression back to his normal lighthearted one.

"And I'm surprised my jutsu isn't about eradicating shrubbery, flowers and other helpless vegetation," Tenzou said with a sigh. "I can grew them out well enough, if I see a picture of it, but I couldn't tell the difference between tulips and roses. So if you ask me to make you a rose bush, it might grow into an orange tree for all I know…"

Kakashi blinked. "You do realize I'll have to tell everyone that, right?"

"Yes. Yes, I do." Tenzou nodded, regretting exposing his gardening failures to Kakashi already. "What are you doing up and about anyway? You're supposed to be taking it easy, sempai."

"What, this old stab wound?"

"I'm serious. If Hayate were around, I'm sure he'd give you an earful." He paused. "And then he'd probably have to talk Genma out of daring you to rip out your stitches with your own teeth, but he'd still give you an earful."

"You're real cute when you're worried," Kakashi said. It didn't help that he reached over and tweaked Tenzou's nose as he said this.

Tenzou rolled his eyes. "I'm not  _worried._  I don't stay up all night wondering if you remembered to change your bandages or anything. I just don't want to think I did all your errands for nothing."

"So you stay up all night thinking about me? I'm touched…"

Tenzou sputtered in reply; he tried to think of some way to not entrench himself further into the grave of embarrassment he'd already dug and his body attempted to remedy the situation as fast as possible. In the war that ensured, "Er-I-uh," was all that made it past his lips. Brilliant, he thought.

Kakashi was not fazed. There was a certain gleam in his eye, however, which assured Tenzou that he was enjoying himself plenty. Before Tenzou could muster up another stammered reply, he said, "See me by the end of the week if you wish to take the mission" and flickered out of sight.

Tenzou dragged in a long, deep breath. "What an asshole!" he yelled.

An apartment light turned on across the way. "You're the asshole, buddy!"

* * *

A pair of blood-red eyes stared at him through the darkness. Tenzou's heart hammered in his chest. He swung his arms, trying desperately to move away from the eyes. They were bound, however, by shackles…

A brilliant silver light erupted before him and Tenzou jolted upright in his bed. Bucket was catapulted off his chest and landed on the floor with a furious hiss. Tenzou barely gave his traumatized cat a second glance as he was busy gasping and gulping in air. He was drenched in sweat. He ran shaking hands through his hair, thinking of the red eyes.

He settled back down and fell asleep within minutes, forgetting his nightmare…

The next morning, Tenzou woke up to someone banging on his front door. Bucket was nowhere to be seen.

He yanked his front door open.

Hayate offered him a polite smile from the steps. "Good morning."

He narrowed his eyes. Genma, Hayate and Raidou were crowded together on his stoop, all looking much too innocent to have any good news. "This better be good."

Genma shoved past him. "Can it, grumpy. We brought you powdered doughnuts."

Raidou stepped in behind Genma and held up a brown paper bag. It had a badly drawn smiley face on it. Hayate explained nothing and made his way inside, too.

Tenzou was unimpressed.

"They're  _jelly-filled_ ," Genma added.

Tenzou brightened immediately. It was too late to school his expression into a scowl, so he snatched the doughnut bag away from Raidou's rather reluctant hands. He shoved a corner of one perfect doughnut into his mouth, savoring the burst of strawberry jelly flavor that contrasted so deliciously with the powdered sugar.

He moaned. "Ooooh. Yeah, that's good."

Hayate coughed.

Tenzou narrowed his eyes. "I've accepted your peace offering. What do you three want?"

"It seems that I accidentally let the faucet on during our last mission," Genma said. "My pipes were rusted-ha ha, refrain from joking-and the extra strain made 'em burst. My living room floor's rotted out and my landlord is threatening to evict me unless I pay for the floor myself."

Raidou wrapped a hand around Tenzou's shoulders. "And since someone we know can easily fix this..."

Tenzou sighed. "Let me get dressed."

The walk to Genma's apartment was uneventful. Raidou trailed ahead of them all while Genma and Hayate talked quietly amongst one another. Tenzou knew he was welcome to chime in whenever he wanted to, but his mind was far away from the streets of Konoha.

Last night had planted the seed of doubt about whether or not Kakashi and he could successfully complete the mission, working together. Moments between them were consistently friendly, then all of a sudden Kakashi thinks Tenzou's  _worrying_ about him all night long. Maybe he gave him a passing thought or two, but that was completely normal.  _Normal._  And the way Kakashi had looked at him—those slat-gray eyes, swimming with emotion, seemed to strip Tenzou to the bone.

He couldn't help but think that Kakashi would be better off partnered with someone else. Tenzou sighed quietly. The frustration he'd felt with himself since last night had only doubled. When had his self-confidence warped into a thirteen year old girl's? Shinobi were professionals! Even if there was bad blood between people, it was generally accepted to hold off the assassination attempts until after the mission was complete. Now that he and Kakashi were on good terms, life should have been simple.

Seriously, what was his damage? his rational side asked. Was he a man or had Genma been right all along? If anything, the mission would teach them to get along even better, demolish the awkwardness still lingering in their interactions. Tomorrow he'd knock on Kakashi's door and accept the mission, then go back to Yumi's and learn all he could about the botanical world.

There was nothing to be afraid of. Sometimes Tenzou could barely stand being inside his own head.

"Turn that frown upside down," Genma said. He poked his elbow into Tenzou's ribs.

"Yeah, yeah." Tenzou gave him his most winning smile.

Genma recoiled. "Creepy."

Hayate cleared his throat. "Tenzou, I've heard that Kakashi has requested you on his newest mission."

"That's right," he said, not for the first time thankful for Hayate's grace at changing the subject. "I was planning on going over tomorrow and accepting."

"No need to trouble yourself," Genma said. "Kakashi said he'd be over when it's done to help out. Did I tell you I needed a new couch?"

"You never tell me anything," Tenzou pointed out.

Raidou turned around and continued walking backwards. "Kid's got a point."

"No one asked  _you,_ " Genma sneered. "Anyway, I was thinking we should do that today."

"All of us?" Tenzou asked, bemused.

Raidou nodded. "In time you will understand, but a couch is no joking matter."

"You see, a couch is the centerpiece of a man's home. Sure, none of us spend much time there, but the mere knowledge that you have buttery leather ready to caress your every ache and pain waiting for you when you get back home... that alone is reason enough to live for another mission," Genma explained. "The selection process is grueling. Depending on what stores have, it might take days to find the perfect one, or extend to other towns."

Tenzou was speechless.

Genma continued, "Salespeople have only one mission, and that is to sell you what they want gone. They're special people, stony in countenance and steel-hearted; when you hit the pricier districts, soulless. I need at least three warriors to stand in solidarity with me on this quest of great importance."

"I don't know what to say," Tenzou said. His mind was still whirling with Genma's crazy speech. Snippets of sentences jumbled together in his head. Couches? Great importance? Soulless salespeople? He wondered if Genma's brand of special was contagious and if he had already been infected. Goodness knows he'd been exposed to it.

Hayate smiled at him. "'Yes' is your only option, to be honest."

"But you only need three... three  _warriors_ ,"-it made Tenzou feel dirty saying that aloud-"to get your couch. You've got Raidou, Hayate and Kakashi. After using my talents for your own benefit, the least you can do is set me free."

"It doesn't work that way. Sorry," Raidou said flippantly.

Genma exchanged a knowing look with Hayate.

Tenzou held up his hands. "Whoa, whoa, what did that look mean?"

Raidou began whistling. Hayate shrugged.

"We'd all thought you would like some extra time with your dearest captain," Genma said innocently.

Tenzou flushed. "Where did you get this  _dearest captain_  from? Did I accidentally inhale some fumes before I went to sleep or something?"

"Well," Genma sighed, "a little white bird told me this morning that you like to dream of changing a certain someone's dressings."

For the second time in five minutes, Tenzou was stunned into silence.

"Don't be embarrassed," Hayate said. "Junior personnel often develop worshipful, even intimate, feelings for senior personnel-"

"This is crazy," Tenzou said, frowning deeply. "When did Kakashi even have time to  _talk_ to you guys?"

Genma squeezed Tenzou's shoulder comfortingly. "Don't worry, ANBU tends to be very lax when it comes to intra-squad relations."

"This has to be a joke," Tenzou seethed. "You think I have man-crush on him? We barely get along."

Genma, Raidou and Hayate looked at him, all of them quite serious.

Anger bubbled up inside Tenzou then. For all the nasty things his ANBU squad had subjected him to, insinuating that he had a crush on his team captain was beyond cruel. They'd seen how Kakashi had treated him in the early weeks. While they had started spending more time with one another, it was not at Tenzou's request by any means.

"You're not kidding," he said, unable to meet their eyes. "You all think I'm-I'm building a shrine to Kakashi, don't you? Collecting his hair, his old toothbrush... then staying up all night doing some crazy voodoo ritual to make him mine. Don't you?"

Now Genma looked extremely worried. "Are you?"

"You can tell us," Raidou assured him.

"No, I'm not making a god damn love shrine to Kakashi!" Tenzou cried.

Genma's shoulders sagged. "We didn't mean to overstep boundaries, but..."

"You've been spending most of your free time with him," Raidou said. "We thought... you know… you had a moment or something."

"And, man, have you noticed how most of your conversations revolve around 'Kakashi did this' and 'Kakashi's dog did that'?" Genma insisted.

Tenzou bristled. " _You two_ spend as much time together, if not more! How come I get pegged with the 'you're falling in love with you're superior' cliche?"

"The way you talk about him..." Genma seemed to struggle with what to say next.

"The way I talk about him? Did Kakashi put you up to this?" Tenzou gritted his teeth. "I know you like him better than me, but this…"

"It is," Hayate started quietly, "maybe better if we left this alone, at least for now. Genma's landlord will be coming out soon if we do not go up."

"If you say so." Genma grabbed Tenzou by the shoulders.

Tenzou twisted himself out of Genma grip.

"Fix your own floor," he spat out. He threw the bag of doughnuts at Raidou and practically sprinted down the street. His heart hammered against his chest like a wild bird trying to escape its cage. What the hell was going on?

All of Tenzou's anger flushed away almost as fast as it had come upon him. With no one left for him to argue with, his brain started to process and even  _consider_ what he'd just heard. Kakashi: the object of his affections, the one he looked up to? In what world, he thought bitterly and a renewed anger directed at Kakashi blossomed in his stomach.

"Hey! Hey mister," a child's voice shouted down to Tenzou. He was Kakashi's brat neighbor. "Your boyfriend's not home!"

Tenzou drew back like he'd been punched in the nose.

Without realizing it, he had walked all the way from Genma's apartment to Kakashi's.


	12. The Shattered Mask

Tenzou ripped down the note that was taped to his door. His eyes scanned the tiny, sloppy and very familiar scrawl.

_Tenzou,_

_If you're alive, I'm hungry and Pakkun is getting dangerously thin._

_Also, I need to know your answer by tomorrow..._

_\- K_

Panic seized Tenzou's stomach.

It was Friday. One week had never passed by so quickly. Time always seemed to catapult itself alarmingly fast, but only when Tenzou wanted it to stand still the most.

He hadn't seen nor talked to any of his teammates since his meltdown at Genma's. It had been quite an effort to avoid them… because they were all sneaky bastards.

He had seen Genma and Raidou leaving HQ on Tuesday, when he had been summoned to pick up some paperwork (ANBU or not, he was still the squad's designated paper-bitch). Tenzou had sidestepped into a store before either of them had time to even  _think_ about turning their heads in his direction. He'd been safe for but a moment; then he'd been promptly punted out from the store, which, to his utter dismay, he discovered was a ladies-only lingerie store.

Genma and Raidou, in true comedic fashion, saw the whole incident. They'd made a move to try and intercept Tenzou from being beaten to death by the matron of the store, but Tenzou had thrown his hands into a quick seal and transported himself far, far away from his good-for-nothing teammates and one very irate old woman.

Hayate had almost cornered in on Thursday, too. It had been a very well laid trap.

Hayate's purple-haired girlfriend, Yuugao, had called out to Tenzou in the street as he made his way home from training. At the time, he had found it odd. The only time he had even seen the girl was when she'd come to fetch Hayate from Tenzou's hospital room. Even then, the both of them hadn't even exchanged looks or words.

"Um—" he'd said and then Hayate had descended on him like the ninja he was. Tenzou, caught unawares, had plunged himself into the ground and burrowed as far as he dared.

Guilt bubbled inside of him every time that he thought of 'the incident' and the following 'avoidance incidents' since. He had acted like an angry child, throwing the bag of doughnuts at Raidou and flouncing off down the street, only to end up at Kakashi's apartment anyway. They hadn't deserved the way Tenzou had treated them. Whether or not Tenzou thought their claims baseless, it was no way to act. In fact, Tenzou's blind anger had backfired on him.

The best way to put it was that he was useless when it came to apologizing. The longer he could avoid the inevitable confrontation between Hayate, Raidou and Genma, the better it was for everyone. Tenzou could just imagine how things would go—he'd probably break down, fall to his knees and beg for their forgiveness, sending whatever pride he had left over from the past several months to its long awaited grave.

Since he had subconsciously ended up running to Kakashi, Tenzou was almost forced to admit that maybe his team was right. Maybe he was getting too attached to his Captain? The Sandaime's words pierced him through then and not for the first time—' _don't let your heart be your greatest weakness'._  Had he opened up to Kakashi on accident? Did he consider Kakashi to be his special person, the one that had pried open his heart?

He slid the note between his fingers, thinking.

Tenzou knew deep down that he was going to say yes to Kakashi's mission—that he wanted to say yes, just so he could eventually see his captain again—but could hardly bring himself to see Kakashi since their talk on the rooftop. He knew that Genma, Raidou and Hayate would not have recount 'the incident' to Kakashi, but Tenzou felt a blaze of embarrassment at the idea that the other man might have heard of it. A little voice in his head calmly reminded him that avoidance was usually founded in guilt.

That settled the matter, Tenzou thought. He wasn't guilty, so he would have to drag his ass to Kakashi's place and take the mission or else. He looked back down at the crumpled note, decision made.

* * *

He moped the sweat at his brow with his sleeve. It was a busy day in the village, despite the rising Fire country heat. It was almost officially summertime, but it today already felt like they were in the throes of a vicious July heat wave. The mission would take them up North in another week to a little coastal town where the Moon Temple would be hosting their summer festival.

The mission scroll had been pretty vague as to  _who_ or  _what_ they were protecting this festival from, but Tenzou knew that oftentimes missions came up out of paranoia that lacked any real basis. He thumbed the scroll that sat in his pocket, thinking of the contents inside that he had already decoded and memorized.

_Rank: A_

_Team Leader: Hatake Kakashi (1)_

_Subordinate: -_

_Commissioner: "Head Monk"_

_Subj: convert bodyguard of summer festival at Moon Temple (132N 43E, 223L); gardeners & landscaping knowledge req.; covert covert covert._

_Brief: 9 June_

The only thing that stuck out like a sore thumb was the commissioner. Why would a monk request two elite ninja for a super covert bodyguard mission? How did he get the cash to pay for an A-rank mission? Monks were supposed to be much like ninja in their fighting abilities, albeit a lot more peaceful with it, and poor to boot. Maybe these Moon Temple monks were too busy laundering money or preparing for their festival? Or maybe these monks weren't the fighting types…

Tenzou was half way to Kakashi's apartment when he heard a familiar voice call his name through the throng of people.

He spotted Yumi a ways down the road, standing at a stall that sold jewelry. Her curly lilac-blonde hair was in a long plait down her back. Another stab of guilt hit him upon seeing her. He had been unwittingly been avoiding her too, despite all the extra time and effort she had put in to help him prepare for his upcoming mission.

"Yumi," he said, making his way towards her. "Hi."

It happened very quickly. One moment she was looking at him with a dazed expression, the next moment she leapt at him and wrapped her arms around his neck. Tenzou was almost bowled over by the force. She cried quietly into the crook of his neck. He patted her back awkwardly, sweating bullets.

Great, he thought. He could kill a man with his pinky finger, but a crying girl was definitely beyond his scope of abilities.

Tenzou pulled Yumi, who was still crying, towards a booth.

"Can I get a strong black tea, please?"

The chef looked bewildered for a moment, then snuck hurriedly behind the counter to start a pot, muttering about his bad luck. Tenzou thought that the man must have thought him and Yumi to be a fighting couple.

"What happened?" he asked tentatively.

"It's D-d-daisuke," she sobbed. "He l-left this m-morning for some c-crazy mission! He v-volunteered even though I t-told him not to take it! He w-w-won't be back for a month… what if something h-happens to him?"

Tenzou frowned. It was odd for Daisuke to be assigned field missions—he worked almost exclusively in the Tower. Still, for Yumi to be reacting so badly… she looked as if Daisuke had personally been handed a mission to apprehend three S-class criminals on his own.

Tenzou gripped her hand. What was he supposed to say? Yumi had been the backbone of his genin team. He had never seen her lose control like this and it rocked something inside of Tenzou. Is this what love did to a person? If so, he wanted nothing to do with it. Still, Tenzou pursued his lips, trying to imagine what he would want to hear if he were in her shoes.

"Hey… don't worry. He will be fine, Yumi. He will be back before you know it."

She looked up. Her eyes were glossy, red-rimmed and puffy. She was not an attractive crier at all. She pulled away suddenly and a dabbed underneath her eyes with her fingers. "I'm… sorry I jumped at you."

"Forget about it," said Tenzou evenly. He needed to be strong. He wasn't sure if he could handle another crying jag.

Yumi sniffed lightly and a few more tears leaked from the corner of her eye. "He wanted to say good-bye, you know. To you, that is. He was really sore he didn't catch you. Where have you been lately?"

"With my team captain," admitted Tenzou.

"Really?" she said, sniffling a little. "I thought you didn't like him."

"I didn't, but…" he paused and shrugged, "it's complicated."

Yumi regarded him for a moment. "Tenzou… you've changed."

"For the better, I hope?"

"Yeah," she said. "You feel a lot… nicer. Warmer."

The chef set a teapot and two cups on the counter in front of them. He gave Tenzou a barely noticeable nod of his head. Tenzou nodded back gratefully and poured him and Yumi a steaming cup.

"We're all going our separate ways now. I guess we have been for years," Yumi said. She cradled the teacup in her hands. "I… I've really missed you. I know you and I haven't been the closest, but… just don't go anywhere, okay?"

"I wouldn't dream of it," said Tenzou. He, who once had dreamt of leaving Yumi and Daisuke behind almost every day, knew that he now meant every word.

"Good," she said and the sternness that was usually in her voice returned. "When Daisuke gets back, we're going to go out to dinner… your treat."

Tenzou laughed. "I'm okay with that."

"Thanks for the tea," Yumi said and raised the cup to her lips.

"Yumi…" Tenzou hesitated.

Much like Yumi's unexpected crying, and his word vomit with Kakashi, Tenzou blurted out everything that had happened to him in the past months since he had learned of his acceptance in to ANBU. Yumi was his safe person, right next to Daisuke. She already knew he was in the corps and he honestly could say that he trusted her explicitly. Seriously, he had too much dirt on her for her to stab him in the back like that. He dropped his voice and Yumi leaned in to listen.

It was an out of body experience. He felt like he was someone completely different, like an outsider looking through a window on the scene unfolding in front of him. It was his voice that came out of his mouth, his hands that gestured, but he knew that a month ago he would never have confided in Yumi like he was now. She must have thought the same because, the more he talked, the more intrigued she looked.

"And a week ago, the rest of my team cornered me and accused me of liking my captain," he said, keeping his voice still lower. "I threw the bag of doughnuts away and stormed off. The worst part is that I ended up walking tomy captain's place without thinking..."

"No kidding," Yumi said. "Hm. Okay… don't get mad, but… do you think they might be right?"

Tenzou leaned back like Yumi had zapped him.

"No! I'm not… you know…" Tenzou waved his hand in the air, hoping Yumi would get the gist of what he was trying to say.

"Well… you haven't had a girlfriend in the eight years that we've known each other. I've never seen you out on a date. You never even gave me a second look and I'm pretty cute, you know?"

She batted her eyelashes at him coyly, but Tenzou knew she was faking him out. Yumi  _was_ a pretty girl, but what she said was the truth. In all the years they had known one another, Tenzou had never shot her a second glance. He often blamed it on her prickly personality, though, and the fact that they knew one another back when he was still wetting the bed.

"I've been busy being a ninja," Tenzou insisted, feeling that lick of anger growing inside of him again. "Not every guy thinks with his penis."

The chef coughed loudly.

Yumi's expression softened. "I know, but don't you think there is a slight,  _slight_ possibility you might want to think with your penis with this guy?"

Tenzou looked away as another roll of frustration crested over him. He looked away and tried hard not to lash out at Yumi like he had his team. She didn't deserve that kind of treatment, just like they hadn't.

Tenzou thought back to the first time Kakashi and he had been alone. He couldn't explain to Yumi how much he had disliked Kakashi then—being left alone with Kakashi had been almost intolerable. Because of these emotions, Tenzou hadn't trusted his captain on their first mission together. He had disregarded Kakashi's position as team captain. That had led to Tenzou compromising the integrity of the mission.

He really  _had_  been juvenile and self-centered. The Hokage was correct. Of course, it was his job to be right on the money when it came to his subordinates, but it wasn't an easy thing to accept.

Tenzou hadn't been ready to lean on his team, not by a long shot. Tenzou admitted to himself that he had wanted the glory, the title. He had cared more about the mission than his comrades, thinking that marking the daimyo off the books would have been the key to getting off probation. He just wanted to be accepted, like any teenage ninja did, but for all the wrong reasons.

Genma, Raidou and Hayate had been ready to let him in right away. Somehow Kakashi had seen right through him and had made Tenzou work for his spot. And Kakashi admitted that he'd found Tenzou's performance lacking. He had told Tenzou that he'd been ready to sack him, but had changed his mind. Why had he?  _"I can't put my finger on it, but… there's something about you…"_

"Tenzou?" asked Yumi tentatively, taking his silence as anger. "Don't be mad at me. Please."

"I'm not mad," said Tenzou and it was true. "I don't know what to think or feel anymore. Everyone is telling me that I'm getting close to this guy. I can't decide whether or not I like him or hate him half the time… what am I not seeing that everyone else is?"

Yumi searched his face, his eyes and, without warning, her expression became stormy.

"Oy! What's your problem, dummy? I don't care what rank you are now… I will still slap some sense into you. Forget what everyone is saying! Only you know how you feel, okay? They might be right, they might be wrong… but at the end of the day you gotta live your life your own way," said Yumi fiercely. "Quit being such a baby about this. Is getting a friend or a boyfriend—ugh, don't give me that creepy look—such a big deal? Go and accept this mission you've been preparing for and maybe you'll get some answers. I don't want to think that all my time helping you prune is going to waste..."

Tenzou blinked a few times. "Huh… I see what Daisuke meant…"

"What?!"

"N-nothing!"

Tenzou hardly noticed that he and Yumi had spent a better portion of the night in the ramen stall. He had every intention of going to Kakashi's place, but he didn't have the heart to abandon Yumi in her time of need. That annoying voice that often appeared when he was lying to himself said that Yumi was clearly alright now, she'd just needed someone to cry to for a few minutes. Avoidance was a sign of guilt, it said, and—well, screw his voice of reason.

Tenzou just didn't care to go anymore.

His and Yumi's conversation that night fell back into an unusually friendly flow, Tenzou's dull anger and Yumi's moment of sadness pushed to the side, long forgotten. It was full of easy talk, mission-prep and Yumi's vehement conviction that Tenzou should go and apologize to this team before his future mission in the event that either one of the three would be in charge of Tenzou's epitaph.

It wasn't until much later, when Tenzou was already back at his own flat, holding the ANBU mask Kakashi had chosen for him, when he realized that his personal life was starting to spiral out of control, that neither the Academy nor his genin-team could have prepared him for the situation at hand.

The heavy weight that had settled in the pit of his stomach earlier was as present as ever. Every time he thought of the mindless walk he had taken after chucking the doughnuts to Raidou, which had been on a steady loop in his mind's eye, his insides tightened painfully, like someone was grabbing his innards and squeezing with all their might. Questions he was still too scared to answer floated in his mind. Why was Kakashi's his first destination? Why  _did_ he talk of Kakashi so often? Was he really getting so attached? Was it more than just a lukewarm friendship?

The Hokage had advised Tenzou to open his heart, conquer the one weakness that could one day lead him down the path of destruction. Which, it seemed, was his lack of interpersonal relationships. Putting him in ANBU with his whacked out team seemed to have done the trick and Tenzou could not have asked for more.

On the surface, his life was perfect.

He had a spot in ANBU and friends that welcomed him with open arms. Genma, Raidou and Hayate would forgive him for his previous actions, he had no doubt; Yumi and he were closer than they had been in eight years and Tenzou couldn't have asked for a more loyal friend than Daisuke.

And  _Kakashi._ The mere thought of his silver-haired captain made his insides clenched tightly once more. What their relationship was, he had no clue, but Tenzou felt like he was lying to himself when he said it was nothing at all.

On the surface, he had everything he'd wanted, but on the inside, his life was a mess and he had a strong feeling that Kakashi was at the heart of it all. Never before had someone had such control over him. Even when Orochimaru had him locked up as Test Subject 43, at least Tenzou could say he was free at heart and mind.

Tenzou couldn't begin to think of how he could solve his problem, if it really was a problem at all.

Tenzou ran his thumb along the cheekbones of his first ANBU mask tenderly. It was cracked up the left side, the paint singed off where the heat and flame had licked at it. Tenzou could not fathom how his mask had survived the blast mostly unscathed when both he and Kakashi had nearly died.

Every time he thought of tossing this mask in the trash, he thought of the blast. How could he get rid of this mask, a fellow victim of that explosion? It represented so much; how far he had come despite the odds stacked against him.

Tenzou thought of Kakashi, ever nonchalant, picking this cat's facemask out for Tenzou to wear. He had first thought it was a random pick, but Tenzou had learned enough about his captain since to know that that few things in his life were completely random. The mask was now a worthless piece of cracked and burned wood, but Tenzou wouldn't get rid of it for the world.

Bucket meowed and leaped up to sit next to his owner. He bumped his hand against Tenzou's hands, demanding attention. Tenzou smiled and placed the mask onto his nightstand, right next to the picture of him, Daisuke, Yumi and his sensei.

His most prized possessions…

* * *

Tenzou awoke at the crack of dawn and slipped out into the streets of Konoha just as the sun was rising. It was much cooler today than it had been yesterday. His destination was familiar, but the walk was nerve-wracking.

"Open up!" Tenzou yelled through the door. He leaned heavily on the doorbell.

Minutes later, the door opened to reveal a tussled-looking Kakashi. He wore a pair of dark blue sweatpants and nothing else. Much like the first time he had seen Kakashi's face without the mask, Tenzou was caught off guard. And it was this caught off guard moment that prevented him from recognizing movement in the apartment right away—not a nin-dog, definitely human, a small shadow of a person crouched over, hands grabbing for things on the floor.

"You got my note," Kakashi said. "You're kind of late, though."

Tenzou felt a flush creep up from his neck. "I ran into someone last night… I can come back later?"

The person in the background came from out of the shadows and Tenzou recognized her as their waitress from The Angry Shinobi. He could not recall her name. Seeing her familiar face unleashed a feeling of irrational anger in the pit of his stomach like a stoked fire.

She stepped around Kakashi and slid passed Tenzou, not making eye contact with either of them or even acknowledging that they were there, and all but ran down the apartment steps. Tenzou watched her go with that heavy weight in his stomach. He had once acknowledged her as being very pretty. Now he wondered what had been so special or striking about her.

Kakashi walked back into his apartment, leaving his door wide open as a clear invitation to either stay or go. Tenzou stood on the doormat, a cache of emotions waging war inside of him. A small voice told him to shut Kakashi's door, turn around and follow the barmaid down the steps, go back to his apartment and pass on this mission. It was the rational choice, the voice reasoned. These angry flare-ups needed to be contained, the root of the problem that had already been established as "Kakashi" had to be eliminated.

Against his better judgment, Tenzou told the voice to kindly shut the hell up and entered the apartment.

It was messier than it had been the last time Tenzou had been there. The little bag of dog treats Kakashi swore his nin-dogs were so fond of was lying on the coffee table, ripped open. Some clothes were strewn here and there and Tenzou found himself searching for anything small, perhaps belonging to a female. Kakashi had given him that note to come over  _today_. Had he meant for Tenzou to see him having a fling with that waitress? He gave himself a mental shake. That made no sense… Kakashi had clearly said that he was receiving Tenzou later than expected, but the doubt lingered behind.

Tenzou sat down on the couch. He wrung his hands together and found it very hard to meet Kakashi's gaze. Finally, he steeled himself and looked up.

Kakashi was looking at him calmly, completely unabashed that Tenzou had just walked in on him on a pre- or post-coital session.

Tenzou's blush flared up at the thought. Something snapped inside of him and the words rushed out of his mouth before he had time to process them. "Why did you let me stay on the team?"

Kakashi tilted his head in confusion. "Eh… I thought you were coming here to talk about the mission."

"I was… I am," admitted Tenzou. "But I need to know why you let me stay on the squad before I give you my answer."

"It's a 'yes' or 'no' thing," said Kakashi. "I don't negotiate very well under duress."

"Let's not joke about this," said Tenzou. "We could have died, because of me, on that mission. I broke the rules. I let my emotions control my actions. I didn't trust you and I almost got us killed. You said so yourself. Why did you keep me on the team?"

Kakashi sat down on one of the barstools. He scratched the bridge of his nose. "I was wondering when you'd bother me about this."

"Bother you?" murmured Tenzou. This was not the reaction he had been looking for.

What reaction  _had_ he been looking for exactly? For Kakashi to admit that he cared about Tenzou more than he was willing to admit and that he couldn't bare the thought of chucking him off his team?

No, not that at all.

"Don't get so hurt," said Kakashi. "Listen, we didn't start off of the best foot, did we? I can't have expected you to trust me. I admit… I didn't like you at all."

Tenzou laughed dryly. "Really? I hadn't noticed."

"I sat your evaluation board," replied Kakashi, ignoring the sarcasm from his subordinate. "I could tell that you cared about yourself more than anyone else, even your best friends. You were simpering, arrogant, a know-it-all—you would have snapped my neck if it'd meant a spot in ANBU."

Ouch. Tenzou felt like Kakashi had cracked a brick over his head. He remembered the three masked men sitting his evaluation board, all those months ago. One of them had been Kakashi… now… the maltreatment made a lot of sense. Had he really been that bad when they'd first met? Tenzou bristled, his anger peaking to an all-time high.

"If I'm such a  _simpering, arrogant_ asshole… why would you ever sign off on me? Raidou said each of you had to agree to let me on," Tenzou bite out, trying to keep his voice from shaking like his hands were. All the anger that Tenzou'd ever felt towards Kakashi was blazing know, threatening to consume him whole.

"The Hokage asked me to pass you," said Kakashi. His handsome face was emotionless. "Genma, Raidou and Hayate signed off on you. They liked your style. I didn't."

Tenzou exhaled sharply. Double ouch!

Kakashi's admission hurt Tenzou more than he wanted to admit. So the Hokage  _had_ been gunning for Tenzou all along, albeit with some hesitation. Kakashi… he had been the one to wave him off. That was why he had been so cruel in the beginning. He had wanted to run Tenzou off the team!

A million thoughts raced through Tenzou's brain, none of them very flattering towards the Copy Ninja. Tenzou gripped his knees hard, his head swimming with undiluted anger. He tried to reign himself in, fight the emotion that threatened to send him teetering over the edge. The shinobi rules… he never had a problem with them before, why was he losing his cool now? He never lost control like his. Not even when he truly had disliked Kakashi, he had never felt so  _mad_.

"I was conflicted," continued Kakashi as if he didn't notice the dangerous intent growing inside of his subordinate. "The Hokage requested you to my squad, but you weren't a teammate I wanted to have. Can you understand my position?"

Tenzou sat there on the couch silently, collecting his thoughts.

No, he did not understand Kakashi's position. He had confided in Kakashi not so long ago that the Hokage had almost disapproved his application and Kakashi had remained silent. Tenzou hadn't thought much of it at the time—merely as a silent Kakashi moment—but realized that Kakashi didn't want to confirm that it had been him denying the application.

Coward, thought Tenzou.

It felt like Kakashi had stabbed a kunai in his back. It felt like the worst kind of betrayal.

"Understand your position? Hell no, I can't understand. Why didn't you tell me this before?" Tenzou asked, anger twisting his face.

Kakashi pinched the bridge of his noise and sighed harshly. "I don't owe you any explanations."

"I think you do," said Tenzou. "Maybe as the Squad Captain you don't owe me anything, but as my friend-"

"Friend?" said Kakashi, his voice bordering on cruel as he talked down to Tenzou. "We are nothing but teammates, Tenzou. I think you need to reevaluate what we have going on here."

Tenzou gritted his teeth. "That's really what you have to say to me?"

"I don't have time for this," said Kakashi quietly. "Do you accept the mission or not?"

Tenzou wanted to punch Kakashi in his beautiful face. This was not the outcome Tenzou had imagined for this meeting, but, in hindsight, what should he have expected? He  _had_ asked Kakashi the question and Kakashi had answered honestly. Tenzou was only trying to incite some kind of response in the other man and the plan had backfired in his face so hard it was a miracle he didn't already have a black eye.

It was a fumbled attempt, anyway. He understood Kakashi just as much as he understood Bucket—which was to say, not at all. He should have expected the unexpected. It was only natural that Kakashi would throw all of this back in his face.

Kakashi hadn't liked him from the beginning, that much he knew. And clearly the progress they had made was all a figment of Tenzou's imagination. Tenzou clenched his fist. Had Kakashi been playing him the whole time?

Kakashi looked at him expectantly.

It all happened so fast. Before he could do anything to prevent himself, Tenzou was up on his feet, his fist rocketing towards Kakashi's face, where it connected with a sickening crack. The pain in his fist was sudden, much like the horror that was now heavy in his stomach.

Kakashi held his face with one hand, impassive as ever.

"I… I'm…" stammered out Tenzou, but that was all he could muster.

He let himself out and slammed the door.

Tenzou was two blocks down the road before he took a pause. He leaned his back against a wooden post, panting heavily, as the realization of what had just transpired washed over him. His knuckles smarted painfully. He hadn't drawn his punch in the slightest. While he was fast, he did not have a doubt that Kakashi could have deflected the assault if he'd wanted to. Maybe it had been so unexpected that he couldn't react? His killing intent must have been on high… Kakashi couldn't have mistaken it for anything else.

Tenzou ran shaking hands through his hair.

He had gone to Kakashi to exonerate himself from the guilt he was feeling, but had come away from the experience feeling even more down in the dumps than before—practically sick to his stomach. He had wanted to make that stupid voice shut up about avoiding his problems, but now it was singing loudly in his ears. Of course, Tenzou's life was cruel and never, ever easy. What had he been expecting, and from Kakashi no less?

He was losing control and badly so. His life was spinning on its axis so hard he felt like it was about to fly off and cause some serious destruction, if he hadn't already completely ruined his life via assault and battery.

Seriously, what the hell had he been thinking?

Tenzou passed by a shop, catching his reflection in the window. He recoiled at the bedraggled man that stared back at him. Tenzou didn't even recognize himself anymore. His face was pale and his dark, almond-shaped eyes were dull and lifeless. The young man he had been so proud of the first time he had put on his ANBU uniform had been replaced with a messed up doppleganger version of himself.

All he needed was a friendly face, he realized. It was a hollow feeling, however, because there would be friendly faces for Tenzou today. He'd been too busy hiding from them all. And the one friend he needed the most… well, he had just effectively severed any ties they'd had, if they had actually had them at all.

There was still so much he had to learn, but Tenzou knew that this much was true: no amount of Academy lessons, lectures or technicals could have ever prepared him for opening his heart up to the one person that he knew, beyond a shadow a doubt, would never be able to do the same.

He plunged his hands into his pant pockets and sulked all the way home.


	13. Clifftop Counseling

A friendly face in the form of Genma found him on the cliff atop the Hokage's monument.

"Don't jump. Life is worth living."

Tenzou sighed.

"You know you're on the mission roster, right? You missed the brief."

"That's nice. Did Kakashi tell you that I punched him in the face, too?"

"He didn't mention it."

"I'm still not going."

"Stomping your foot won't get you out of it," said Genma stubbornly.

"Insubordination and assault consummated by battery doesn't get you very far in ANBU, I see," remarked Tenzou dryly.

"Mmkay, I like to think I'm a pretty cool, but watch who you're talking to. I'll be damned if I end up as your emotional punching bag."

"I'm sorry," murmured Tenzou. "I just need a break."

"A break? You need some vacations days or something? You're a ninja. It's not that hard," said Genma. "Pack your shit and go do your duty."

Tenzou covered his face in his hands and groaned. He had been struggling with his inner self for a better part of the day. It was June 9th, the day of his mission brief, and he had been too much of a lout to go to it. A part of him had hoped Kakashi would have gotten his message, loud and clear, but that was too much to hope for. As always.

The image of his fist connecting solidly to Kakashi's jaw replayed in his mind over and over again. What was he thinking? It had been another out of body experience; he saw his fist draw back, felt his knuckles connect solidly to flesh and bone. Some sleeping beast had woken up inside of him then and Tenzou hadn't had the strength to fight it. At least it didn't seem like he was about to get carted off to jail anytime soon.

If Tenzou wanted to be honest, the idea that Kakashi sent Genma to do his dirty work for him rubbed him entirely the wrong way as well. What was worse, instead of pulling Tenzou's name from the mission, it seemed that Kakashi had stuck him on it. It was a cruel joke (in a string of cruel jokes that seemed to comprise of Tenzou's whole life) and Tenzou was certainly not laughing.

"Did you hear the whole story?" asked Tenzou, eyeing his new company suspiciously.

"Weeeeell," said Genma, "he didn't elaborate where the black eye came from, but we all assumed it was from you…"

"A black eye…" repeated Tenzou grimly. "Great."

Tenzou picked up a pebble from the ground and rubbed it between his fingers. How did he get himself in to this predicament? He felt so insignificant and miniscule, like the pebble that was now in his hand. Genma was correct. He couldn't run away from Kakashi forever. He was a ninja. It was an inevitable staple of his profession that he would have to work with people he disliked or had punched in the face. He drew his arm back and flung the pebble over the bank of the cliff.

Tenzou recalled a few months back, before he had met his new team, when life had been routine, simple and problem-free. How had he handled his problems then? He had always been alone, felt most comfortable that way, and that was how he chose to work things out. His inner turmoil could always be fixed by a quick run around the village, a brutal training session, or a meditation session (or three).

Tenzou had tried all three and none of them made him feel any better or closer to solving his problem. Every time he punched the wooden post, he imagined it was Kakashi's face he was hitting; each lap around the village reminded him of his walks to Kakashi's apartment; his mind's eye focused on a shimmering silver light.

He shifted his eyes on Genma, who was doing his best to look like a mix between innocent and supportive. It was not a good look for the man.

Tenzou sighed. He had felt much lighter after talking to Yumi… maybe it was time to admit to Genma and the gang had been right all along. Would telling Genma his problems make him feel better? The man already heavily suspected that Tenzou was losing his mind and getting emotionally attached to a one Hatake Kakashi. What more could he lose if he just admitted the truth?

Tenzou looked at his teammate again. Genma was now looking at him with a worried expression—his eyebrows were furrowed and he had a concerned tilt to his mouth, his senbon ever present. It was this expression of concern that drove Tenzou onward.

"You were right," whispered Tenzou, steeling himself for the path of conversation.

Genma pursed his lips. "What are we talking about right now?"

"Kakashi. Kakashi and me, more specifically…" admitted Tenzou. The knot that had been wrapped up in his stomach tightened.

Genma gaped at him, seemingly at a loss for words.

Tenzou bristled underneath the scrutiny, but continued on. "The best conclusion I've come up with is that I don't know what's going on in my head anymore, especially when it comes to Kakashi. I say I can't stand him half the time, but I walked all the way to his apartment in an angry, stupid haze after you and the guys tried to tell me I was starting to 'develop feelings' for him. Who does that?"

Tenzou pushed his face into his hands, shame and confusion washing over him like a strong tide. What was he doing? The verbal acknowledgment made his feelings almost tangible.

"Go on," said Genma softly.

"Two weeks ago, I confessed to Kakashi that I wasn't  _good enough_  to be ANBU. And when I went to Kakashi's place, I asked him why he kept me on the team when he clearly didn't want to. I thought it was the Sandaime who had kept me back, but it was  _Kakashi_ who wanted me chopped from the team. I asked him why he didn't tell me that in the first place. I threw the 'friend' word in his face and he basically told me I was crazy for thinking that we were anything more than teammates. I… lost it. I punched him in the face. He deserved it, but I just want to run back to his place and apologize. I can't stand him… but… this feeling… in my chest. It's like I need him. I think I might be…"

"… hopelessly and madly in love?" Genma filled the words in for him.

Tenzou looked away. It was still too early and he was still too ashamed to use those words.

"Look," said Genma, "we didn't mean to pull an intervention on you the other day. Your business is your business and we didn't have a right to bust up in it like we did."

"It's okay," said Tenzou tiredly. "And I'm sorry for being an asshole about it. I'd say we're even."

"I'll take that. I don't know, man… I guess we've all been there. You start hanging out with one person every single day for weeks and months… one day you wake up and it's just different," said Genma.

"That makes sense," said Tenzou, wondering if it was really that easy to explain how a person developed feelings for another. He thought of Yumi and Daisuke's relationship… had it been like that for them, too?

For the first time, Tenzou was thankful that Genma had found him. He was the most street-smart of their team and the advice that he passed down was accessible and relatable. Tenzou trusted Genma to give it to him straight—because he always did, no matter the occasion—and Tenzou knew right away that confiding him his teammate was absolutely the right thing to do. The knot in his stomach lessened an infantessimal amount.

"So what should I do?" asked Tenzou, desperate for more words of wisdom.

Genma took a deep breath and sighed. "It depends."

"On what?" asked Tenzou curiously.

"What you should do depends on if you want to pursue your fearless leader or leave it alone and move on with your life," said Genma.

Tenzou scrunched his face up. "Pursue Kakashi? I'm pretty sure he's not…  _you know_. I forgot to mention this, but… when I showed up at his place yesterday morning that waitress from The Angry Shinobi was just leaving."

Genma's face darkened. "That bastard. So that's why he always gets preferential treatment."

Tenzou snapped his fingers in front of Genma's face. "Plot revenge later, help Tenzou now."

Genma slapped Tenzou's hand away. "What did I say about being a brat?"

"Sorry."

"Whatever. Well," said Genma, stroking his chin in thought. "I don't think he swings that way either."

Tenzou frowned. "So… why pry into this? I blame you, Hayate and Raidou for kicking this hornet's nest that I now call my life. I could have gone on completely and blissfully ignorant. Maybe found a nice girl to settle down with."

Genma fixed him with a contrite look. "Could you sound any more miserable and pathetic right now? You're making  _me_ want to throw myself off this cliff."

"You're telling me I should pursue a man that is  _sleeping with women_ ," said Tenzou, exasperated.

All that stuff he said about Genma finding him, giving him sound advice and being thankful about it?

Yeah, that was completely gone.

Genma sighed, also exasperated. "I didn't tell you to pursue him. I said if you wanted to, I would tell you how to go about it. Look, Kakashi's sexuality is a bit of a mystery. Never had a girlfriend that I can remember; flirts a little but, if you pay attention, it's with both men and women. Personally, I don't think you're on the other team either... I just think you happened to fall in with Kakashi, who happens to have the same junk as you—"

"Ugh, come on!"

"Just being honest! You're gonna be playing with it when you two—"

"Genma!" yelled Tenzou. "Wait a minute. You said ' _when_  you two'?"

"Y'know… have sex. Jeez, you're slow today."

"Shit! Okay!" shrilled Tenzou, a deep flush crawling across his cheeks. "I know what you meant, but it sounds like you think we might actually get around to this…"

"Yeah, I do," said Genma, smirking. "I have some serious money riding on you riding his—"

"Say one more word," said Tenzou tightly, his face darkening. "Just  _one_  more word. Please."

Genma gulped, suddenly very serious. "Alright, very sorry. Won't happen again. In all seriousness, though… Tenzou, you're different. You were kind of a weirdo when we first got you. I don't know how or why but you make  _Kakashi_  different, too. He's a great guy, never worked with someone that had my back like he does… but he's way more fucked up than you can realize."

Tenzou shook his head. "I think I do."

He wasn't the most well-adjusted human being either.

Genma smiled brightly, senbon bobbing up. "Maybe that's why you two are so chummy."

"So… what you're trying to tell me is that Kakashi might actually feel the same," deduced Tenzou. "That you think he's a 'better man' when he's with me and that I changed him through the power of my feelings, but he's just too messed up to analyze and admit it."

Genma shot him a disgusted look. "All that, but less fruity and clichéd."

"Whatever. And that's all well and good, but…"

"But what?" prompted Genma.

"But I don't really know how I feel! I've never felt this way before. So how can you say this is love? All I know is… I like being around him. More than anyone I've ever known. No offense."

"None taken."

"It makes no logical sense. He didn't like me from the start. I didn't like him either. I thought he was a total jerk-off. Then that building blew up. I almost got us killed, but he gave me a second chance. I felt like I owed him something, so I did what he asked me to do and carried his groceries around for a while. I hated being his errand guy every second. I hated going to his apartment to give him the briefs. It was plain weird. Then one day I woke up and I just… looked forward to seeing him… and Pakkun."

Genma smiled. "And that's just how it works sometimes. You spend enough time with someone… you wake up and—poof—it's just different between you two. Especially when they're pretty looking."

"But what if that's just me getting accustomed to a routine? And pretty or not, he was an asshole who lied to me and stomped all over me when I called him out on it."

"First off, would you tell the man you love that you were the reason his dreams were almost crushed?" asked Genma.

"Oh, well, when you put it like that," said Tenzou snippily.

"And second: no one calls Kakashi out on his bullshit. Not even I do. At least, not seriously. You stand up to him. You're not afraid to push back. Most guys would hide their tails between their legs when the infamous Copy Ninja barred his teeth, but you snap back at him. How do you think he was going to handle that?"

"Not well?" said Tenzou, his passion waning under Genma's logic.

Genma nodded. "You have to give him time to come to terms with whatever is going on his own head. If you're freaking out over this… well, he is, too, I'd imagine. And he doesn't have this awesome guy to coach him through it. Emotional intimacy is scary shit."

It was true, Tenzou admitted. It had taken him a long time to acknowledge, evaluate and accept the fact that he, maybe, wanted Kakashi as more than his team captain. What if Kakashi was going through the same inner conflict? He could only imagine what terrifying business was swimming around in his head.

Tenzou shook his head. No, he thought. He didn't want to think about that. He didn't want to get his hopes up; he didn't want to pine away after someone he could never have. He didn't want to wait in the wings for the rest of his life for someone that found it easier to kill people than confront his own feelings. He needed to let sleeping dogs lie.

Whatever Genma said was pure speculation. Tenzou had been there when Kakashi said their friendship was baseless. Genma hadn't seen how serious Kakashi was—how he hadn't cared, how his face had been completely emotionless as he unknowingly shattered what, Tenzou was beginning to understand, was his heart.

Genma sighed. He pulled a scroll out from his flak jacket and handed it over to Tenzou, then rolled up on his legs to leave. He stood next to Tenzou, his hands in his pockets, looking out towards the horizon. A cool breeze burst up over the cliff.

"Do me one favor," said Genma.

Tenzou looked at him. He had rarely heard or seen Genma so serious.

"Try to go after the guy. Tell him how you feel. It might not seem worth it to be honest and confess... he might acknowledge you or he might reject you. You won't know until you try. And  _knowing_ is better than living your life in regret, don't you think?"

"Mm…"

Tenzou mulled those words over in his head, over and over again, long after Genma had flickered out of sight. Would he live in regret, for years and years to come like Genma said, if he never told Kakashi the extent of his feelings? If he didn't at least  _try_ to persuade Kakashi to admit that the man was blind to his own feelings? What if it was all one great big mistake? He could just imagine Kakashi looking at him with that one cruel, hooded eye. A groan escaped his lips then and the butterflies fluttered in his stomach at the thought of facing his silver-haired captain.

Genma was asking him to take one hell of a leap of faith.

It sounded easy to do in theory, but did Tenzou have the guts to jump?

* * *

Tenzou only had a day to wrap up his affairs before he had to meet Kakashi at the checkpoint for their mission. It wasn't absolutely imperative to go to the mission briefs, especially if an excuse could be pulled for you, but Tenzou wondered idly if Kakashi was keeping on the roster out of spite or because there was absolutely no one else to take the spot.

Tenzou rolled his neck, not wanting to touch that emotional mess just yet. He had already lost a good part of that day due to clifftop counseling. Another part had been lost to coaxing a hissing and furious Bucket into his traveling case.

He rang the doorbell to Yumi's apartment and waited patiently.

Yumi opened the door. The smile that had been on her face dropped off into a look of near horror. "Oh my god, what happened to your face?"

"The little  _angel_  you gave me years ago," said Tenzou, who was flushing in irritation. He held up the traveling case that currently housed a yowling fat little tabby cat named Bucket.

For all the damage that Tenzou's furry companion had imparted to his face, he could have been a tiger.

Yumi opened the door fully and waved him in.

"Do you need a band-aid?" she asked. Her face was still contorted in a look of deep sympathy, but her voice betrayed her. Tenzou could tell that she was almost on the edge of hysterical laughter.

Tenzou sent her a sharp glare. "Ha, ha."

"Well, put Bucket over there," said Yumi, gesturing towards her guest bedroom. She peered at the cat inside the case and gave him a friendly wave. Bucket gave the metal bars a furious swipe upon seeing her. She blanched. "Maybe we should give him some sedatives before we let him out?"

Tenzou set the crate down, sorely tempted to dump the irate cat and run out on Yumi. "That's a little extreme. He just needs to calm down."

"Hm," was all Yumi could say, sending cautious glances in Tenzou's direction as he settled the cage down into the guest bedroom.

"I appreciate you looking after him," said Tenzou.

"It's not free," said Yumi with a sly smile. "You owe me dinner for this."

"Tonight?" asked Tenzou, thinking of the equipment he still needed to pack for the mission tomorrow. Getting Bucket in the cage had really taken up most of his free time.

"Yes, tonight," scalded Yumi. "When else? If you don't come back from this mission I'm going to be stuck with an angry baby tiger in my guest bedroom."

"Thanks for the confidence," sighed Tenzou.

"Any time. Come on," said Yumi. She tugged his shirtsleeve and practically dragged him out of her apartment. "There's this really cool fusion restaurant that has terrace dining I've been meaning to go to."

"Terrace… dining?"

Tenzou couldn't help but feel like he was being used.

Of course, being with his hardheaded former teammate could never be a simple and easy task. The walk to the "cool fusion restaurant" had Tenzou across Konoha in the opposite direction of his apartment and all the things he still needed to pack. The only upside was that Yumi was in a much better mood than the last time they had seen one another. Handling crying girls was still very much out of his scope of abilities.

They sat outside on the promised terrace after a twenty minute wait. It was a half story up and gave them both a perfect vantage point to overlook the busy Konoha streets. The restaurant was much nicer than the ramen stall he had dragged Yumi to the other day and he felt like he was going to feel the dent in his wallet when the check came.

"Daisuke sent me a bird the other day, told me everything was sunny and great and that he really misses you and Bucket," chattered Yumi.

Sometimes Tenzou found it hard to follow along with her long-winded and rapid sentences. He squinted his eyes at her, trying his best to focus, and nodded along, humming his acknowledgments here and there. He had never been much of a chatterbox himself and preferred to be in the company of those that were much more low-key.

At that moment his treacherous brain reminded him that Kakashi was very, very low-key and wouldn't it be nice if Kakashi were here eating dinner with him on the terrace tonight?

Tenzou wanted to punch himself in the head for thinking such things.

"Are you even paying attention?" snapped Yumi. She pouted at him.

"Mm—oh yes, of course," lied Tenzou, trying his best to refocus his gaze on his former teammate. He felt bad lying to her when he was certain that all she wanted was some company and a free meal, but it was hard to give her his full and undivided attention when his thoughts had him million of miles away.

Yumi sighed and propped her chin on her hand. "Enough about me, I guess. How's everything going with your man-crush?"

Tenzou squirmed in his seat, still comfortable with labeling his feelings in such blatant terms. "Not so good."

Yumi sat up and leaned forward, looking overly excited by his bad news. "Oh? What happened?"

Tenzou explained how he had punched Kakashi after their argument and then he recanted his clifftop conversation with Genma.

"That's interesting," she said, tapping her chin thoughtfully. "Definitely could be worse."

"How so?" asked Tenzou, genuinely interested in her answer. Not many things could have been worse in his eyes at this point.

"I mean… I haven't  _seen_ the way he's interacting with you—"

"—I'm not introducing you—"

"Cut me off again," she ground out, grabbing her fork in a threatening manner. "I'm just  _saying_ that if your other teammates are saying he might like you back, it can't hurt for you to try and give it a shot."

Tenzou eyed the fork wearily. "Did you miss the part where I basically walked in on him having sex? With a woman?"

"Yeah, but that's not  _totally_  definitive," she said, stabbing the fork in the air to emphasize her point.

"I don't know how much more definitive 'I'm not gay or interested in you because I'm sleeping with a woman' can get," he deadpanned, more than a little perturbed that Yumi wasn't following along with his sound logic. He felt like everyone was shoving him in the back towards the edge of a very steep cliff without any regard to his mental or physical well-being.

"Maybe he's just acting out because he's frustrated?" she offered lightly.

"He's not a toddler," said Tenzou. He sank into his seat, not caring that a few of the restaurant patrons shot him scandalized looks. "And why isn't he acting out his frustrations with me?"

"That's a good question," said Yumi. "You should totally ask him."

Tenzou sighed and gazed out onto the street. He blinked.

It was a one in a million chance, but he caught a glimpse of silver-colored hair and a vibrant orange-covered book. Tenzou pointed down to the crowd dejectedly and Yumi turned to look.

"That's him," he said, watching Kakashi walk down the street with his nose buried in a book. His heart rate had sped up just by looking at the man and that was when Tenzou knew he positively had it bad. Although Kakashi was walking away from his vantage point, the illogical part of his brain hoped that Kakashi would have a reason to turn around and look up to the terrace. He slumped even further into his seat.

"Where?" asked Yumi.

"Silver hair, orange book…"

"Oh my god," she breathed, clutching a hand to her chest. "Hatake Kakashi is your big gay love?!"

"Keep your voice down," he whispered harshly, waving his hands in front of himself desperately.

A few more restaurant patrons had turned to look when Yumi had practically screamed his dirty secret out.

"Why didn't you tell me?" she asked, flushing brightly. A fevered gleam glossed over her hazel eyes. Tenzou knew that look and it was never, ever good to be on the receiving end of it.

"I couldn't. The identities—"

"Shut up!" she said, slapping the back of his hand as if to admonish him like he was a child reaching towards a hot stovetop. "Everyone, and I mean  _everyone,_ knows the handsome and clever and  _fantastic_  Copy Ninja Kakashi is ANBU. Do you think I'm slow?"

Tenzou puffed his cheeks out, his pride smarting enough that he wouldn't justify her rhetoric question with an answer. What did she know about Kakashi being so handsome and clever and fantastic?

"Better yet, I have news for you," she said, crooking her index finger to beckon him to come closer.

Tenzou leaned in despite himself.

"I know the woman you're talking about now," she said, her voice almost shaking with excitement. "I overheard Azusa from accounting talking to Saito from intel about her cousin's brother's wife's sister's niece… the blonde waitress from that ratty old bar in the red district!  _Kakashi turned her down_. She's spent the past two days holed up in the apartment crying her heart out! Isn't that great?"

Tenzou's mouth went dry.

"Yeah, great," he echoed hollowly.

"This changes everything," said Yumi, clapping her hands together. "He  _must_ be crazy in love with you if he turned her down. She's gorgeous."

Tenzou was barely listening to Yumi talk. Word in the watering hole was that Kakashi had turned out a very willing and gorgeous barmaid for no apparent reason. He pushed his face into his hands and rubbed his cheeks.

What was he supposed to take away from that news?

"My life is a soap opera," he moaned into his hands. "Oh my god."

"Hm? No, if your life was a soap opera you would be much better looking, have a much more ridiculous name and you'd have an evil twin somewhere. But you are hitting the lover's miscommunication cliché pretty solid."

"Kill me.  _Now._ "

"Stop being so dramatic! This is fantastic news. I can still see him down there. Run after him!"

Tenzou's head popped up. "What?"

Yumi shrugged. "I can't stand seeing you so depressed. You owe me two fancy dinners now. Go!"

Tenzou watched the silver mane of hair bob through the crowd. He looked back at Yumi, who was shooing him on incessantly. He chewed his lip, debating what to do. If he waited any longer, Kakashi would slip out of sight and he might never get the courage to chase after the man again.

Tenzou made his decision. He stood up and gripped the rail of the terrace and launched himself into the street, leaving an even more scandalized restaurant behind him.

He landed gracefully on his feet, but scaring half the people surrounding him to death. One would think the population of Konaha would be used to those things happening.

"Sorry, sorry," he said, and hurried off behind Kakashi. The crowd swelled around him then, as if the fates were conspiring to keep him from getting to his target. He slipped around a vendor, side-stepped through throngs of people and jogged to catch up, but it was difficult as Kakashi had made quite some progress down the busy Konoha street.

"Why didn't I just take the roof tops?" he asked himself after he was almost taken out by a watermelon cart.

He followed Kakashi at a distance and soon found that his gumption had all but vanished.

All he had to do now that yell out "sempai" and jog a few more feet to reach him, but Tenzou's his feet shuffled underneath him like his sandals were made of lead. He let the crowd jostle him to and fro.

_What_ was he  _thinking?_

Declaring his feelings for Kakashi in the middle of a busy public street was not at all what he had in mind. It was no one's business but his own if he ended up making a complete and utter ass of himself.

He blamed Yumi's news about the barmaid and her pestering for the amped up courage he had felt. Now that he had no one cheering for him, he just felt hollow and naïve. So what if Kakashi had turned down a beautiful woman—so badly, perhaps, that he had left her crying and beat down for two days? It didn't make anything more favorable for Tenzou. In fact, it made him pretty heated.

Not only had Kakashi downplayed any relations he and Tenzou had, effectively destroying whatever friendship they had in fact built up, he had to break some poor girl's heart, too. Tenzou felt ashamed for feeling so jealous of the barmaid before. She was in the same boat as him, it seemed. He remembered how she had coyly come up to the table when Kakashi had arrived during Tenzou's first visit to The Angry Shinobi. All she wanted was to be acknowledged and to be wanted by the elusive and emotionally defunct Copy Ninja.

The man had no tact when it came to hurting people.

Tenzou followed several paces behind Kakashi now, too dejected to go back to Yumi and inevitably listen to her chew him out over his lack of gall.

Or balls. Either one worked.

He should have turned tail and headed back to his apartment, but he didn't have the heart to do that either. Despite all the bitterness and confusion he felt towards Kakashi, he still felt a distinctive magnetism pulling him along. Tenzou almost hated himself for not being able to pull away.

He stared at the back of Kakashi's head, his eye trailing down his jounin uniform and back up. Unflappably cool as always.

Tenzou thought of all the times he had seen Kakashi half-naked and flushed. He was broad-shouldered, muscled, with a torso that tapered into a v-shape—a standard, in-shape body befitting an elite ninja. Tenzou had seen plenty of naked men that could have been deemed "attractive", but there was something about Kakashi's pale, scar-flecked skin that sent a shiver up and down his spine. The more he thought about it, the more he wondered what was wrong with him. He was sick to be looking at Kakashi in such a way.

But… it wasn't hurting anyone if he was only looking…

Tenzou's eyes trailed downward once again, settling on Kakashi's behind.

_Nice._

He felt his pride roasting alive on a spit; all his resolve melted away.

No one—and absolutely no man—had ever incited such a response in him. Was it possible to want something more from just  _one_ man and one man only? He licked his lips. He wondered what it would feel like to be pressed up against the hard, sharp lines of the man he was trailing. What would it be like to press a soft kiss against his perfect lips? Tenzou had never wanted to know the answer so badly before and he knew, right then, that if he didn't at least try to explain to Kakashi how he felt,  _try_ , then he really would live in regret.

Still, the courage to do so evaded him.

Tenzou followed behind Kakashi like a loyal dog for as long as he dared, which was all the way to the war memorial. He hesitated once it was obvious where Kakashi was heading. It wasn't right to spy on someone like that. Not even Kakashi, who was decidedly in Tenzou's bad graces at the moment, deserved to be looked in on if he was going to grieve.

If only Tenzou had been a stronger man.

He had to stay much further back than he had in the streets. There were very few people here. The memorial had a certain quiet to it; no matter how loud and bustling Konoha was, it was a sad place and often avoided, if only subconsciously.

Tenzou stayed near the entrance that led up the grassy knoll, leaning against a tree to better hide himself, and watched as Kakashi shut his book and crouched in front of the stone that had the names of Konoha's bravest etched upon it. Kakashi reached out a hand, touching the stone lightly, almost caressing it. He bowed his head.

Warning signals were blaring in Tenzou's head at this point. He was no better than a depraved stalker, watching Kakashi have an intimate and quiet moment. He was intruding on something deep, he knew, but that magnetism was keeping him in place and he hadn't the strength to fight against it. Tenzou's heart hammered in his chest. The prospect of being caught made his hands break out in a clammy sweat.

Did he dare watch any longer?

Tenzou thought for a moment, but the answer was becoming all too clear: hell no.

He started backing away, ready to turn on a heel and sprint out of sight and far, far away from the man that was making his life so difficult.

Just as he was about to turn, Kakashi's head snapped to the left, his one exposed eye boring deep into Tenzou's own terrified pair. Of course, it was too much to ask that he would have gotten off scott-free. Tenzou's breath hitched in his throat.

He was caught.

He was caught very, very red-handed and Kakashi did not look at all pleased. Tenzou had seen a diverse selection of emotions pass across Kakashi's face before: stern, sarcastic, happy, annoyed… Now, he had the pleasure to experience Kakashi's 'pissed off' face.

Kakashi stood up from his crouch, his eye still fixed on Tenzou like a spotlight.

Tenzou's limbs limbered up at that moment, all his instincts telling him to hightail it out of there. Not one to turn his nose up at his survival instincts, Tenzou fled the scene like he running for his life.

And a part of him felt that, essentially, he really was.


	14. The Calm Before the Storm

The first time Tenzou had caught his teammates kissing was quite possibly the worst day of his life—save for getting kidnapped by Orochimaru, injected with foreign DNA and left to die naught a few weeks later.

It had been during their annual team vacation, the one where he had spent most of his time confined to his compartment on a rickety old boat.

He'd been seasick, absolutely green in the gills, stumbling around like a drunken monkey at every swell of the sea. The salty brine of the ocean seemed to coat everything he owned in a nasty, flaky, white way; the sound of a seagull squawking in the distance was enough to induce a violent vomiting session in him. On the third day, after his sensei's botched attempt to poison him, he had managed to stumble out of his rack. He'd been trying to find either Daisuke or Yumi so he could beg for some food. All that puking had left him weak, dehydrated and anxious for land.

When he had opened the hatch to Yumi's compartment, he'd found Yumi. But not how he imagined he would find her, as the reality of the situation had never been in his imagination.

Daisuke's lips had been vigorously attacking her face and neck.

Tenzou had screamed shrilly then, and the horrifying image burned itself into his brain forever. Catching his teammates in the act of a heated make-out session made him even sicker than the rolling of the ship on the high seas.

Being caught spying on Kakashi had much the same effect.

He felt horrible. He  _looked_ horrible. Rest had not been forthcoming the night before the mission as the tension had mounted each passing minute and he clearly looked the picture now. He paced back and forth, unable to sit still for even a moment. He had dark smudges underneath his eyes that rivaled Hayate's; his unruly brown hair was wilder than ever; his eyes were bloodshot and dry. No amount of water had managed to quench his thirst and, every few minutes, his insides fluttered in a wild panic.

He chewed on his thumbnail.

It was a horrible habit, but he couldn't help it.

Just like he couldn't help spying on Kakashi and getting caught at it like some Academy munchkin.

He groaned and slapped a hand to his forehead.

"Stop thinking about that," he coached himself.

Tenzou checked his watch.

Unlike their first mission together, Kakashi and he were scheduled to leaving during the day. Yet, much like their first mission together, Kakashi was late. For once, the tardiness didn't bother Tenzou in the slightest. He welcomed it with open arms now.

Tenzou was terrified of his own irrational emotions. On one side, he wanted Kakashi to show up and end his misery—chew him out, tell him off, maybe smack him around a little. The other side, that decent little slice of his pride that he had managed to salvage despite everything he had been through these past months, wanted Kakashi to take all day long. It would work for him if his team leader never showed up for their mission, too.

He wasn't trying to be picky here.

Indeed, his night had been rough. Tenzou had crawled underneath his bed covers as soon as he had escaped Kakashi's wrath and mentally whipped himself for a better part of an hour. After he finally ran out of horrible things to call himself, he had managed to lift the covers and get on with more important things (like preparing for the mission). Nevertheless, all the conversations he had had with people in regards to Kakashi had looped on repeat in his head.

_Take a leap of faith._

It might be more appropriate to throw yourself off instead…

_Tell him how you feel._

I feel like Konoha's Number One Asshole.

Honestly, it hadn't been Tenzou's most productive soul-searching session to date.

* * *

An hour of waiting slid into two and Tenzou had calmed down considerably.

He had the frisking to thank for that, though.

The chuunin gate guard had approached him not fifteen minutes into his hurried pacing by the bench outside the North Gate post and asked him his business.

"What are you doing?" the gate guard had asked.

Tenzou, in his harried mental state, responded with a rather rude, "None of your business."

Not his best line and it had clearly not amused the gate guard, who looked as if he was having a rather rough morning himself.

"State your business with the North Gate or I need to ask you to continue your morning stroll somewhere else."

"Fuck off," Tenzou had replied.

"Not today. You better come with me," the guard had said.

From there, he had taken Tenzou behind the shed and searched him none too gently. Tenzou shuddered at the memory.

Tenzou checked his travel bag again for lack of better things to do with his time. He had brought with him enough provision to last a week, a rolled-up sleeping bag, a case of knives, a few books on horticulture and a set of formal clothes. As their mission called for them to be inconspicuous, Tenzou wore a traditional dark blue traveling trousers, blouse and sandals. The only ninja gear he brought was tucked away in his bag.

He had also disposed of the encoded mission scroll the previous night. He had missed the mission brief, but the scroll Genma had handed over to him spelled it out clearly.

It was clear cut and purportedly low-risk. He and Kakashi were assigned as bodyguards for the Moon Temple festival; they were to pose as gardeners as not to spook the clientele, but were otherwise charged staying low-key and making sure no one spoiled the festivities.

Still, Tenzou had a feeling there was something he was missing... While it wasn't unusual for a festival to pay for some hired hands (a handful of shinobi could do the job of a hundred mindless thugs), he knew that monks typically knew how to take care of business.

Before he could do any more thinking, a cloud of white smoke erupted next to Tenzou.

"Ack!" he cried, fanning the smoke away.

"Sorry I'm late, I had a hard time choosing what to wear this morning."

Tenzou's panic flared up in full force. He started to say something but only a meek sound escaped his lips.

Kakashi shot him an annoyed look. "We should get going," he said.

He didn't  _sound_  particularly upset, Tenzou noted, but he wasn't going to press his luck.

"Yes, sempai…" murmured Tenzou, looking sideways at his teammate.

Kakashi wore a similar traveling outfit in dark red. His left eye was covered with a black eye-patch. The most noted change in his appearance, however, was the absence of his mask. Not for the first time, Tenzou was caught off guard by Kakashi's looks and he tried his best to control his blush. Tenzou had had plenty of time to appreciate it before, but the absolute perfection of it all was nevertheless overwhelming. Even with the purple and yellow bruises.

Guilt shot up Tenzou's spine. He looked away and threw his backpack over his shoulders.

He followed behind Kakashi a distance towards the North Gate, mentally berating himself the entire way. He really had let his emotions get the better of him… Was he a ninja or not? Every time he thought of Kakashi's black eye was like a stab to his manhood.

Tenzou noted this gate was practically deserted. How many people had seen Kakashi without his mask? Tenzou scratched his temple.

The gate guard waved them through with a pointed look in Tenzou's direction. "Thank you, come again..."

Tenzou shivered.

The next several hours passed in completely awkward silence.

Kakashi read his book.

Tenzou tried his best to not stare… or pull his own hair out.

Silence had never bothered him. In fact, he preferred quiet time. Still, there was a distinct chill in the air between Tenzou and his traveling companion. It was no surprise. The two of them were definitely not on the best of terms—he'd punched Kakashi, followed him to the memorial, skipped the official mission brief, and basically acted an ass.

Of course, Kakashi wasn't completely faultless either…

Tenzou struggled with himself, which was never a welcomed feeling. He was too stubborn to apologize first. Sure, he had been a dirty sneak, but Kakashi had still been a grade-A jerk. Plus, he had the gall to look good today. Tenzou wondered if the man had chosen to forego the mask just to bother him.

Was he even aware of the effect he had on Tenzou? Girls had captured his attention from time to time, but it never felt like this. Tenzou looked sideways, studying Kakashi's profile as best he could, appreciating the aesthetics. He was still coming to terms with the fact that he was attracted to another man. It bothered him less and less the more he thought about it on the whole, but it was still a little off-putting.

Indeed, Tenzou never so much as had a peck on the lips in all his years… no deviant sexual encounters, no romantic interests (not for lack of bungled trying on his part)… he really had been content in his career and to embarrass himself in front of lobby assistants. So where the hell did all these  _urges_ come from? It felt like after his first and  _only_ mission with Kakashi he literally  _had,_ just like Genma had said, woken up and started lusting after the man.

If he had to pinpoint the exact time his 'condition' began…

He had woken up in the hospital room, worrying about his captain. It had been unusual at the time; he had thought so himself. While he had never wished for Kakashi's death directly, he couldn't say they were on the best of terms then. Was that just some subconscious part of him latching onto some desperate 'we almost died together' feelings that had somehow blossomed into something a person might call love?

Tenzou let out a tiny groan before he could reign himself in. But if Kakashi had heard, he paid no mind or made any moves to acknowledge it.

For lack of better things to do, Tenzou watched the road ahead. They were now deep into the fire countryside, Konoha a half-day's travel behind them. They walked along a dried up, duty road that was closed in on both sides by greenery that was as tall as Tenzou. This sea of tall grass went on for miles, as far as Tenzou's eyes could see, both to the East and West. The Moon Temple was further southwest by the Red River in the village of Hana, a few days travel according to the scroll Genma had provided. The name of the village had barely made any impression on him when he had read over the facts in the scroll, except that maybe he had bought a piece of clothing that had been imported to Konoha from that remote village a long, long time ago.

* * *

Another two hours of stony silence passed before Kakashi broke the silence with, "It should take us two days to meet up with the convoy."

Tenzou visibly started, having fully resigned himself to the fact that Kakashi was probably never going to speak to him again. "Okay. So what exactly do they need us to look out for?"

Kakashi flapped his hand as if Tenzou's question was just plain stupid. "The festival at the Moon Temple received a few threats last year... just need to make sure no one does anything too crazy."

"Doesn't this seem like a mission for a genin-team?" Tenzou pointed out with a mild frown.

"Enough air up there where your head is?"

Tenzou shot him a glare. "Don't worry, I have my oxygen tank with me, sempai."

"Hm. They specifically requested and paid for my services," explained Kakashi. "You were just the add-on guy. The best fit would have been Yamanaka Inochi, since his family owns the flower shop, but he's already on another mission."

"That's too bad," said Tenzou. He plastered a borderline maniac smile on his face.

Was it really necessary to add that jab in about Inochi? Tenzou kept smiling. Kakashi was clearly upset—he played nonchalant very well, but Tenzou  _had_ been hanging around the man for weeks enough to sniff out a bluff when he saw one. His shoulders were more set, his gait not as relaxed and languid as it normally was. It couldn't have been lingering effects from his battle wounds—the hospital had officially cleared Kakashi fit for full duty a long time ago. He'd also been on the same page of his book for two hours. Unless Kakashi was really relishing those two pages, Tenzou had a feeling his presence alone was bothering his captain.

And now he was just trying his best to grind down on Tenzou's nerves because he knew he could.

Tenzou wondered how long he would be able to keep his happy-go-lucky attitude up before he snapped back. Sure, he was embarrassed and he probably deserved the kicks, but there was only so much one guy could take. They really needed to apologize before things got out of hand. He still hadn't seen Kakashi in a one-on-one fight, but he had a feeling it would not be easy to subdue the infamous Copy Ninja.

They traveled on foot for the rest of the day, stopping only a few times to eat and drink. Tenzou barely remembered the last time he had set out on such a boring, uneventful trek. With Kakashi giving him the cold shoulder he only had his own thoughts to preoccupy the time.

Considering that most of his thoughts consisted of how he wanted to explain that he wasn't mad anymore and, hey, sorry for spying, could they maybe be boyfriends now was not making Tenzou's life any easier.

This was what Daisuke liked to call 'ninja problems'.

It was deep into nightfall when Kakashi decided it was time for them to rest. Tenzou created a modest inn for them to spend the night.

"You couldn't have made this when it was pouring rain on the last mission?" Kakashi asked.

Tenzou's jaw ticked.

"My arm was dislocated, remember?" Tenzou said, trying to keep his voice even. He set his sleeping bag up in the corner of the room.

Kakashi scoffed. "Excuses..."

Tenzou bit the inside of his cheek, praying to a higher power to give him the strength to carry on like he hadn't heard Kakashi say anything. Going back and forth like cats and dogs was not helpful to his plan, but it was really hard to apologize when he wanted to smother Kakashi and his smart mouth in his sleep.

The next day of travel transpired in much the same mundane, hair-pulling kind of way.

Tenzou's temper had been simmering from the night before. Kakashi had said something about their inn lacking in central plumbing and it had taken a monk's patience that Tenzou admitted he lacked these days to refrain from wrapping Kakashi up in wood and squeezing.

It was by no small miracle that they met the festival procession around midday without a scratch.

Kakashi handed their passes to a very short, very fat balding older gentleman who told Tenzou and Kakashi to simply follow the crowd. They wouldn't start doing their 'gardening duties' until they reached the Temple, which would be another day of travel.

Joining the festival crowd was a welcomed respite for Tenzou. While on the road, he was forced to pay attention to Kakashi. Now, he was surrounded by hundreds of people who didn't look at him like he was a piece of gum stuck to their shoe. He sized each person up as he passed them, picking and choosing the threats where he saw them. So far, no one got his Bad Ninja Senses tingling.

The crowd was a mixture of entertainers and religious.

An entourage of monks from the Temple followed a distance behind the main crowd, as bald and stoic as ever. A few of them scanned Kakashi and him suspiciously, perhaps sensing their ninja chakra. Tenzou was sure some of them had heard of Copy Ninja Kakashi, too. Maybe they already knew their leader had commissioned them to work the festival?

It was best that way. Tenzou couldn't believe the Sandaime really believed Kakashi could pull off a true espionage mission. His description was just too well known across all the countries. Many monks were practiced in the art of war or were excommunicated ninja who were looking for a second shot at life. Nevertheless, unless one of them had beef with either him or Kakashi, he doubted the brothers would pose a problem for their own festival. It seemed that was the case with these monks. After they sized him and Kakashi up much like he was sizing them, they turned away and continued on with their trek.

"We should split up," he whispered to Kakashi.

Kakashi nodded his concession and slinked off into the crowd, as lazy as ever.

Tenzou wandered around without much enthusiasm, introducing himself as the festival florist to anyone who would listen. Most were polite, but they all lost interest in him quickly enough. Clearly, flower arranging was not a heated or exciting topic. Tenzou was not disappointed, however. It gave him ample time to himself to scope out his surroundings and the people he was going to be spending the better part of a month with.

A hitch in his day had struck in the form of a terrifying old woman.

Tenzou had been minding his business, eyeing a shady-looking fire-breather, when a grey-haired grandma with a grip of steel had pounced upon him with a look that almost gave him flashbacks to worse days.

"You are the florist?" she asked him briskly, but, if the way she was digging her hands into his forearm was any indication, she already knew what his answer would be. Otherwise she was just being very rude.

"Y-yes, ma'am," he replied.

"Tsk. What trash. You were supposed to report in with me  _hours ago_ ," she snipped back with a trite sniff and dragged him off to a mobile cart by the shell of his ear.

On the way to her cart, she whispered into his ear many interesting things: her name was Yi Ling and she was his official mission handler and would explain in more detail when they reached their destination. Somehow, she managed to strike more fear in Tenzou than the worst S-class criminal he had scuffled with. The fact that he couldn't defend himself made it infinitely worse.

"Ma'am, I didn't realize his mission had a handler," he said in ways of coaxing more information from her. He truly was at a loss. The mission scroll was simple: incognito bodyguard for the Moon Temple festival. It had made no mention of making contact with anyone until they arrived at the Temple. Kakashi had made no mention of this either. Did he know something and leave Tenzou out of it?

Quite rude of him if he did.

Yi Ling grunted and dropped the cart beams from her shoulders. "Make yourself useful and pull the cart for me, boy."

Tenzou blanched but did as he was told. He hoisted the wooden beams over his shoulders and pulled. He nearly stumbled under the weight and had to use a burst of chakra to get himself going. Tenzou had seen the old grandma pulling the cart for a better part of their journey without any problem. He was lying to himself if he didn't admit that this fact didn't put him on edge.

Yi Ling walked next to him, arms folded deep into her dull purple yukata. "Keep your eyes open at the Temple."

"Have you heard that we might run into… _something_  once we get there?" asked Tenzou. Had the grandma heard of someone plotting while following the procession? She was his handler, after all. Someone must have let something slip if they were planning on causing problems.

"Did I say that? No," she snapped, ending his questioning right then and there. "Mm, your voice and face are very irritating."

Tenzou sighed inwardly. First Kakashi's cold shoulder, now a verbally and physically abusive old grandma…

When would he catch a break?

* * *

The break came much later in the day. Yi Ling set him free when the procession ground to a halt and she told him to find her at once the next morning. She scattered like a cockroach to sunlight and Tenzou was left out in the cold and alone.

Most of the hotels, motels and inns were already booked by the festival procession. Tenzou hadn't realized how far back he, Yi Ling and the cart were until he noticed that the small town was already crammed with too many people when he stepped foot in it.

He could have always wandered off into the forest to create his own place to stay, but it was bad form to reveal that he was a ninja so soon into his 'undercover' stint. He doubted anyone would notice or really giving a flip (they were in fire country, after all), but he still thought it was best to play his cards close to his chest. Especially after the grandma's not-so-elaborated threat to keep on the lookout. Plus, he still had to clear it with Kakashi. He snapped his fingers.

Kakashi!

Perhaps his silver-haired captain had found them a place to stay the night and was patiently and thoughtfully waiting for Tenzou to find him?

Tenzou touched his chin thoughtfully.

On second thought, he might as well find a decent heating vent to lie under and accept that he would have to be no better than a common vagabond tonight…

"You there!"

A short, slender man with a paunch that jutted out of his gray-colored blouse was waving in Tenzou's general direction. Tenzou blinked and pointed at himself. He vaguely remembered introducing himself to this man earlier today and thought that his name might have been Gorro.

"Yes, you," the man maybe named Gorro said, "you look lost. Come join my family for dinner."

Tenzou could hardly believe his luck.

Although ten seconds into sitting down with Gorro's family, he decided he definitely was not that lucky.

The family consisted of Gorro, his wife, their three vapid daughters and their two troublemaking sons. The mother, Miyu, was short, thick and clearly the head of the household; she bossed her husband and children around with much angry fervor. The children were just plain naughty.

Tenzou learned quickly that they held no valuable information, but the whole family had a penchant for gossip. They explained to him that last year someone almost lit the fireworks stall on fire. That incident had been, according to Miyu, the talk of their village for months.

If that would be the extent of the threat this Moon Temple would face, then this mission would be an easy paycheck. However, as previously established, Tenzou was not a lucky fellow and he couldn't shake the feeling that something was amiss. His Bad Ninja Sense was tingling high and had been since he unofficially took on this mission a few weeks ago… although the tingling now might have been caused by the fish.

He ticked off all the suspicious activity in his head: the grandma had warned him to keep an eye out when they reach the Temple, but she hadn't elaborated. Why was she keeping Tenzou out in the dark when she was his handler? Was she scared of retribution on the road? She was as strong as an ox for someone who was clearly in her late seventies so he doubted it was that.

Kakashi was specifically requested for the mission as well. While this happened often enough (he  _was_ famous across all five countries) that this in of itself wasn't plain and outright dangerous, it  _was_  odd.

What was even odder was the monk situation. Monks traditionally had a handle on violence… all that time praying and training often made them formidable opponents when they decided to leave the covenant… but now they were now requesting ninja assistance—from one specific ninja, to boot. Plus, monks were notoriously 'salt of the earth'—how did they manage to scrounge up enough cash to pay for an A-rank while simultaneously hosting a festival?

Bad news came in threes and Tenzou certainly had three reasons to watch his back now. Indeed, things had gone from curious to curiouser. As a ninja, he'd been taught from a very young age to see underneath the underneath. He had his puzzle pieces coming into view, but they were not yet fitting all the way together.

Tenzou worried his lip as his thoughts washed over him. Kakashi was still as absent as ever. Not that Tenzou was thinking of having dinner with him, specifically… but where was his teammate? What if the whole time, this head monk had some crazy vendetta against the Copy Nin, tried to get him alone, succeeded and now Kakashi was lying helping in a field of tall grass, dying, calling for his kohai to rescue him?

_Good. He can try and crawl his way home to Konoha for all this snippy comments earlier._

"So where did you say you were from again?" asked Gorro.

Tenzou blinked and raked his brain. "The Hidden Leaf Village."

_Brilliant._

"Wow! Are you a ninja?" asked the youngest son, Barra.

"Don't talk with your mouth open," Miyu admonished. "Now why would Tenzou-san say he was a florist if he was a Leaf ninja?"

"I'm not a ninja," lied Tenzou. "I'm… from the Yamanaka flower shop. Last year's florist mixed up hydrangeas with Venus fly traps so the Temple asked for a replacement…"

The family looked at him curiously.

Tenzou gave them his best smile and prayed that they would buy his horrible excuse.

"Hmm, I don't remember seeing that, but… that is a rather bad mistake," said Miyu after a moment.

"I'm sure you will do much better, Tenzou-san," said Gorro encouragingly.

"Thanks," said Tenzou lamely.

Tenzou scanned the crowd of village folk, looking for Kakashi. His team captain was still nowhere to be found. Tenzou had a feeling Kakashi was purposefully skiving off—probably had been since the two of them had split up. The festival crowd was large, but not so large that Tenzou would miss a man with vibrant silver-colored hair and the face of a supermodel.

A hand clapped him on the shoulder roughly and Tenzou nearly upended the table he was sitting at in his surprise. Only a ninja could have crept up so well…

"There you are," said Kakashi cheerfully. "I've been looking for you everywhere."

Gorro's family, which had been rowdy, fell silent at once.

"Oh my," breathed Miyu.

"Is this… a friend of yours?" asked one of the daughters with a face that could only be described as 'hopeful'.

"U-um… this is my partner," said Tenzou, trying to pull a good fake name out of thin air.

"Yamato," supplied Kakashi.

"Partner?" asked Miyu, her eyebrows rising up towards her hairline.

Tenzou cleared his throat.

"Yes, we work at the flower shop together. How do you do?" said Kakashi, his best schmoozing act turned up high.

"Very well," replied Miyu, practically purring.

"Do you mind if I steal Tenzou from you?" asked Kakashi.

"Not at all," said Gorro.

Tenzou hesitated for a moment, not wanting to be entirely rude to his host family. He stood up and bowed. "Thank you for the hospitality."

"Of course. Come by anytime… the  _both_ of you," said Miyu, eyeing Kakashi appreciatively.

"Thank you," said Kakashi, giving them his most winning smile.

Tenzou felt weak in the knees.

Kakashi steered Tenzou away, keeping his hand on Tenzou's elbow. Eventually he dropped his hand and Tenzou slowed his walk to where he was trailing behind Kakashi dejectedly. He wasn't sure how much more of the cold shoulder he could take. He needed to express his suspicions eventually, but it could wait until their walk tomorrow… unless Kakashi decided to shirk off again.

"Sempai, did you know we have a mission handler?" he asked, grasping for anything to break the silence.

"Hmm? Oh, yes. Yi Ling. Very sweet lady."

Tenzou's eyebrow twitched. "Oh yes, very sweet and pleasant. So you never mentioned we had to check in with anyone."

"The mission brief had all the specifics," replied Kakashi lightly.

"I…" started Tenzou, wondering why Kakashi was being so passive-aggressive. It wasn't like him to intentionally disregard mission-essential information just because he was mad. Or was it? "I wasn't there. You know this."

"No, you weren't," agreed Kakashi. "And yes I do."

"And… you didn't want to share that information with me."

"She found you eventually."

Tenzou rubbed his face, finally feeling like he was reaching his breaking point.

"Did you get any information?" asked Kakashi.

"Nothing crazy," said Tenzou warily. "Someone lit the fireworks stall on fire last year."

"I heard the same," said Kakashi, stopping abruptly.

Tenzou almost knocked into him.

"Tenzou…"

"Yes, sempai?" asked Tenzou nervously. He was waiting for another snide remark and steeled himself for the worst.

"I'm…" he started, then shook his head. "We should stick together tomorrow."

Kakashi continued walking.

Tenzou frowned.

That was indeed a new development.

He jogged a few paces to catch up, his mind racing.

"I booked us the last room at the inn down the street," said Kakashi, twirling a set of keys around his index finger.

"Oh thank goodness, I was planning on sleeping under someone's porch tonight…"

* * *

Tenzou could not sleep.

He had tried many different things to lull himself off—he had snuck out of his and Kakashi's shared room and walked the grounds of the inn they were stayed at. He had stretched, meditated, and did a series of breathing exercises, yet nothing seemed to work. His mind just did not want to shut off, although his train of thought was not hard to follow.

In the world of Kakashi… saying "let's stick together" was basically his way of dropping all bad things that had happened between them. While it wasn't an outright apology, it made Tenzou's heart leap for joy every time he thought about it. Did he forgive Tenzou for the spying? For the punch? It was almost too good to be true.

Tenzou had been stunned for quite some time after the fact and, by the time he had gathered his thoughts together to ask Kakashi  _why_ he had quasi-apologized, Kakashi had already dozed off and Tenzou hadn't had the nerve to wake him.

So Tenzou was stuck. He couldn't sleep and his brain kept repeating the events of the passed few days on repeat: Izugo, Kakashi's biting words, the punch, Genma's advice, and the apology.

He shifted on to his side and stared off into the dark corner of his room. He checked his watch—0339—and sighed. He was drained. He closed his eyes and felt like this time he could almost feel sleep coming.

Kakashi moved; the sheets from his bed rustled as loudly as ever.

Tenzou's eyes snapped open and a twinge of annoyance marred his face.

"Sempai?" whispered Tenzou, finally finding his courage to provoke the sleeping lion.

"Mmmph?" replied Kakashi.

"When you said 'let's stick together' what did you mean?"

"What it means," said Kakashi. "Let's stay on the road together tomorrow."

"Ok," said Tenzou, rather unhappy with that explanation. All his good feelings evaporated and he felt decidedly chilly.

Kakashi sighed and rolled over to face Tenzou. "I acted like a jerk."

_What?_ Tenzou had not expected that at all.

"Well… yeah, you kind of did," agreed Tenzou. He coughed. "I'm sorry I hit you. And I'm sorry I… followed you."

"It's… fine. Don't you think this could have waited until tomorrow morning?" said Kakashi, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

"I guess it could have, but I couldn't sleep," admitted Tenzou sheepishly. "Since we're awake, though, I've been wondering…"

"About?"

"Why were you in jerk mode?" he asked.

"Old habits die hard, I suppose," said Kakashi, stroking his chin.

Tenzou recalled to the early days of the tumultuous relationship between him and Kakashi. Neither of them had taken to the other. They had been like cats and dogs. Of course, Tenzou hadn't taken any of Kakashi's jabs to heart then; in fact, he was more than happy to throw a barb-tipped sentence back. Now that his captain meant something to him, it seemed he was easily affected by his cruel words.

Tenzou sighed. He was such a sucker.

"I'm still mad at you, you know," said Tenzou.

"Mm?"

"Because you lied to me."

"I didn't lie," replied Kakashi. "And  _you're_  mad at  _me_? You punched me  _in the face._ "

"Okay, you withheld information. I would consider that up there with lying," said Tenzou, effectively bulldozing past the guilt trip.

"Still technically not lying," said Kakashi. "Also, face punch."

"Technically. But since we  _are_ friends…" he let the words hang in the air so that Kakashi could dispute them. When he didn't, Tenzou continued. "Since we are  _friends_ , you should have told me you hated me and wanted me to choke on a chicken bone when we first met."

"I didn't want you to—okay, maybe a little… Tenzou, do you believe people can change?" asked Kakashi.

"Yeah, sure," said Tenzou. He had no other choice than to believe.

Kakashi ran a finger along the scar that marred his left eye. "I used to be a lot like you… the 'you' I saw when I sat the ANBU board. When we first met, I saw in you everything that I had hated about myself. I was arrogant. I didn't want comrades or friends. I believed that the mission was more important than the people on them. This eye… is a testament to my mistakes."

Tenzou almost gasped.

Kakashi's eye… it was obvious that Kakashi had attained the Sharingan eye from an Uchiha, but the circumstances were a mystery. Tenzou had asked someone once. Speculation was that Kakashi had forcibly taken it from a rival, but Tenzou had never believed that—an Uchiha would never have let that happen and the clan would never have let Kakashi keep it.

Then had this been the Hokage's message to Tenzou? Had Kakashi's teammate died because of a mistake Kakashi himself had made? Tenzou could've have been sure, but he had a feeling he knew who Kakashi was visiting at the memorial now…

"I'm sorry," said Tenzou quietly.

"Mm?" grunted Kakashi sleepily.

"I'm sorry," he replied more loudly. "I didn't mean to be such a pain to you or the rest of the team. You were right about me from the beginning. Yumi and Daisuke… my sensei, too… they're the only family I have, but I treated them like dirt all these years. I pretended like I only tolerated them, but I see now… without them, I would be nothing."

"Tenzou…"

"Please accept my apologies, Kakashi-sempai," Tenzou said, heart beating fast. "I won't let you down again."

Kakashi's rumbling laughter rang out in their cramped room.

"Why are you laughing?" asked Tenzou. He couldn't help feeling a little embarrassed.

"You were being so serious. I had to break the tension somehow," said Kakashi. "You're a weird guy, Tenzou."

Tenzou rolled onto his back. A new thought started forming in his head. His mood went from cheery to a dark place he hadn't visited in a very long time. "A little. How much about me do you know?"

"Too much to be any good for my mental health," said Kakashi, his voice light. If he expected what Tenzou was thinking about now, he did not show it.

Tenzou hadn't given it much thought before, but Kakashi said numerous times that he had gone through Tenzou's files. How far had Kakashi read into those classified documents?

"Orochimaru," said Tenzou conversationally. "Did you know?"

Kakashi's sheets rustled again.

"There were sixty of us," said Tenzou. He stared hard at the ceiling. "Did you read that?"

"Yes."

"I was the only one that survived," he said.

It was a fact, he stated it as much, and he liked to treat it the same.

Genma had not been far off the mark when he had said Kakashi was more fucked up than anyone realized. Tenzou knew he was right up there with him. Tenzou tried not to think much of his past, tried to be optimistic because he had been given the biggest do-over ever. But how well adjusted could he be when the weight of fifty-nine other children pressed down on his shoulders?

He was a ninja, but he was still human.

"I was locked in the lab for two weeks before anyone found me," said Tenzou. "Did you read that, too?"

"Yes," said Kakashi. "It was in the medical report."

Tenzou rubbed his forehead. He hadn't said much, but he felt mentally exhausted, like he had talked for hours and not minutes. He had never spoken of his time with Orochimaru to anyone—not his teammates, old or new. This time, his confession didn't make him feel any better. It merely stirred the pot of shame and sadness. He had lost hope a long time ago that those feelings would ever go away.

"That's heavy stuff," remarked Kakashi.

"Yeah," agreed Tenzou. "Sorry. I didn't mean to over share."

"Would you like a tissue?" asked Kakashi.

Tenzou rolled his eyes. "Oh, shove off."

"We have a long day tomorrow…"

"Yeah."

Kakashi's sheets rustled again and Tenzou's turned his head to watch this conundrum of a man make himself comfortable.

Tenzou closed his eyes when Kakashi's breaths leveled off into a steady rhythm. He quickly fell into troubled sleep.


	15. Silkworms

Tenzou never understood the allure of fireworks.

They were loud, colorful and managed to capture the attention of a whole crowd so raptly that it was no small miracle that people didn't get pick-pocketed during these types of gatherings. The first 'firework festival' he had ever consciously agreed to attend was under duress, mainly from Yumi's fury and Daisuke's pathetic pleading. In the end, Tenzou had went home before the fireworks had been set off and instead watched them alone, save for a purring Bucket that was clawing up his leg, in his apartment.

In a way he understood the appeal now… the pop-pop-pop in the distance had a certain soothing rhythm and the sudden red, orange, blue glow that cascaded along the walls were pleasant enough. And the faint murmurs of 'oh' and 'ah' in the distance that followed each successful firing had Tenzou wishing he was down there, in that large crowd, enjoying these meaningless sparks along with the few friends he had made.

Being down there would have been awfully better than where he was now, in any case. There were very few ways Tenzou had imagined himself dying and dying during a silly summer festival was not one of them.

Despite the risks of his profession, it was an unspoken rule of the trade that obsessing over death was a no-no; understanding the perils of one's job was one thing, but living in constant fear of tomorrow's end was another. Near death encounters (in which he'd had several close encounters in the past three months) could cripple a shinobi, even if his mind wasn't pouring over a thousand ways to die. Right now, Tenzou didn't give a flying rat's ass about this unspoken rule because he was as close to death now as he'd ever been. An exploding building? A mere flesh wound compared to what was coming his way now… Orochimaru's nefarious medical procedures? Might as well have been a check-up at the doctor's…

He coughed violently and the iron tang of blood filled his mouth and stained his pearly white teeth a bright red. He couldn't get rid the taste of certain death no matter what he did. Spitting up blood was never a good thing. It was normally the first sign (during the movies and sometimes in reality, too) that death was rapidly approaching to escort a person to the other side. Such a shame, too, because he finally solved the mystery and would have had it all wrapped up in a fancy bow if it weren't for the fact that he was—well, you know, dying. Tenzou thought it was a true testament to his character that instead of fearing the end, he only felt failure at another mission he had blown.

_Shhhnk… shhhhnk…_

Both his arms were useless. They were splayed outstretched when he'd fallen and he couldn't do much but twitch his fingers helplessly; the best he could do was a simple seal, but it wouldn't be enough to save him. He was impaled in two places, stabbed like a helpless animal that had walked right into a cleverly placed snare, and his organs were going to shut down from the blood loss soon, if not the shock. To top it all off, his chakra was draining quickly and soon he'd be bone dry. What would get to him first? One of them, surely, but it didn't matter much.

There was still a thousand more ways to die.

The room was basked in a sudden blue light as another firework exploded across the cloudless night's sky and Tenzou closed his eyes, finally slipping away into oblivion.

* * *

_3 weeks earlier..._

Tenzou woke up to a series of popping sounds.

He shot upright, swinging the kunai he had tucked underneath his pillow in front of his chest defensively.

Kakashi yawned and continued cracking his toes. "Put that away before you put someone's eye out."

"Wouldn't want another accident, would we?" grumbled Tenzou underneath his breath. He dropped the kunai to the ground and flopping back onto the bed. He hadn't slept very well at all, despite sleep coming to him swiftly after his and Kakashi's conversation. He felt as if he'd had a series of dreams, which were neither bad nor pleasant, that had nonetheless caused him to wake up intermittently throughout the night.

Still, he felt more mentally refreshed than he had in weeks. All the stress he had been worrying over had been washed away the previous night and he almost wanted to slam his head into the inn wall for what he'd put himself through. Sometimes he almost forgot that Kakashi was another male and that their wavelengths were, for all intents and purposes, on the same level. Tuning of the frequency was required from time to time, and Tenzou still didn't understand half the reasons behind Kakashi's day-to-day actions, but Tenzou understood them enough to know that he was forgiven for both trespassing and assaulting. Things weren't perfect between them—not yet, not by a long shot. But Tenzou wasn't about to touch the tentative 'thing' he and Kakashi had fallen back into with a ten-foot pole until they were far, far away from this mission (and uncomfortably close living arrangements).

All that could be put on the backburner for the time being. The mission was live now. He gave himself a serious mental shake as he got ready for another day of travel. There was definitely something underneath the underneath at play on this mission and Tenzou was determined to figure what it was out—and soon.

They joined up with Yi Ling and her cart right as the procession was beginning to move again. Tenzou decided right then and there that he hated to travel in packs of civilians. Everything and everyone moved as slow as snails… granted, half this procession were middle to late aged people, but Tenzou wasn't the most compassionate person to begin with. He justified his impatience. They had a job to do and all this tottering about was hindering progress.

"Come on," said Kakashi from behind his orange-covered book. He tilted his head in the direction of their mission handler.

Kakashi sidled right up next to Yi Ling, but Tenzou decided to keep a fair distance from them both despite Kakashi wanting them to stick together. Tenzou figured keeping in seeing distance constituted 'together'. Yi Ling sent Tenzou a grim smile when she caught his gaze roving over her mean, wrinkled face. There was something about her ox-like strength and attitude towards him that still didn't sit right.

Tenzou gave Gorro's family a grateful wave when he passed them, but they only had eyes for Kakashi and his unmasked face. Typical, Tenzou thought darkly. He had been the one to share their fish and rice last night while Kakashi had shown up for less than two minutes, but the latter was the one who had left the best impression on them.

"Tenzou," called Kakashi over his shoulder. "Can you get this?"

He was referring to the cart, of course.

Tenzou sighed and exchanged spots with the old woman. He heaved the cart over his shoulders the same way he had the day prior and trudged along. What is she carrying in this damn thing? he thought. Another day's worth of walking with this thing on his back was going to suck more than an industrial-strength vacuum cleaner.

As the hours passed, the pleasant scenery changed from tall sweet grass to flat farmland that had just been tilled for farming. They passed by several acres of orchards and vegetables fields. A scarecrow was stuck in the middle of one field, his hay-filled arms flapping in the light summer breeze.

"Look, it's your cousin," remarked Tenzou.

Kakashi scratched the side of his nose lazily and Tenzou could almost see his lame joke fly straight over his head.

Mostly through eavesdropping, Tenzou was filled in to the geography and brief history of the area. The Moon Temple was situated in the ocean inlet town of Hana, where the Red River flowed out into the sea. The fresh water river had a natural clay embankment that turned the water a suspiciously shade of dark red.

Hana was renowned for their silk worms and thus, their extremely fine silk. This mix between clay, fresh water and salt water apparently made the trees that grew off the embankments fantastic hosts for their giant silk worms.

The monks of the temple were the ones who tended to these silkworm trees and harvested the product. Each year, a summer festival was thrown in honor of said silk worms, which made perfect sense to Tenzou, as those bugs made the little inlet town of Hana an extremely  _wealthy_  little inlet town.

Tenzou glanced over his shoulder to the group of monks that had been traveling with him. His first impression of them had certainly changed as they spent more time in each other's company.

Before, he thought they had been mean-mugging both him and Kakashi, sizing their threat levels up, but it was clear that these monks had only been curious. Gorro had explained that the same group of people worked the festival each year and that it was rather unusual to see new faces. Everyone knew one another and what they did, if not their entire life story.

All of the monks were young, the youngest perhaps only a year or two older than Tenzou. They tended to talk to one another only, but if a child got lost in the crowd—which actually happened more often than Tenzou liked—they often gathered the crying child up and handed them back to their parents. Also, Tenzou doubted they had much combat training. They were stoic, but they didn't carry themselves like warriors. Plus, their skin was a little too perfect. The only curious part was that he could see their hands were well calloused. But if they were farming monks, which it had been gossiped away that they were, then it wasn't so curious after all.

The nefarious plot Tenzou had concocted in his head was slowly slipping away. The layer under the underneath seemed to be nothing more than his false suspicions. He glanced over at Kakashi and Yi Ling, who were walking side-by-side in amicable silence. Yi Ling's warning to keep an eye out at the Temple rang through Tenzou's head, but the initial interest that had caught Tenzou's attention before was no longer there.

The pieces of the puzzle that Tenzou had held so triumphantly before were now falling into their rightful and much less evil place: the A-rank mission was paid for by the infamous silk of Hana. The monks were farmers, not warriors hell-bent to exact their revenge upon the Copy Ninja and his innocent teammate. Kakashi was infamous, especially in Fire Country, and it was no doubt that the town only wanted the best to protect them from any and all vandalism.

It must have only been a coincidence that Yi Ling had warned him to keep an eye out. Gardening often ended in cuts and scraps. More than likely she had recognized that Tenzou was no natural green thumb (which was indeed ironic, considering that he was actually  _quite_ the green thumb) and thought it was fit to warm him to keep a clear head as to not blow their sloppily thrown together cover.

"Ahem, excuse me."

Tenzou looked to his left. "Good afternoon, Gorro-san. How may I help you?"

Gorro looked rather uneasy and glanced shiftily over his shoulder. "Tenzou-san, I desperately need your help."

Tenzou almost crumpled underneath the weight of the cart. His heart rate picked up speed and he stared intently into Gorro's face. What had happened now?

"I may have made the missus a little upset last night," said Gorro sheepishly. "Do you think you could maybe get me a bouquet that says 'I'm sorry' or 'forgive me for I am not worthy'?"

Tenzou's eyebrow twitched. That wasn't what he had imagined Gorro's cry for help to encompass, but he really had no other choice to accept and help. He was playing the part of the festival florist—what good would it be for him to snub the man, his one potential contact in the entertainment crowd, and perhaps make the rest of the group lose confidence in him as the flower master?

He definitely needed Gorro on his roster. The only problem was that he had no stock. Tenzou didn't feel much like asking Yi Ling if what she was carrying around in the cart was a year's supply of fertilizer, so he knew he had only one choice: make the bouquet with his own hands. Literally.

"Whenever we stop for another break," said Tenzou. "Come and see me… I'll have the flowers ready for you."

Tenzou knew he'd have to sneak away under the pretense of using the little shinobi's room and make up some lie that he'd found a patch of flowers growing behind a tree if anyone became suspicious.

Gorro gave him a slight bow. "I am so grateful. Thank you so much."

Gorro scurried off and Tenzou was once again left alone. He sighed and found his gaze wandering over towards Kakashi. Much to Tenzou's horror, the silver-haired man was actually looking back at him. He averted his eyes immediately and studiously watched the road ahead of them. A flame of longing that he'd been suppressing for the better part of the day flared up and Tenzou tried desperately to stomp it back out of existence.

"Get your head in the game," he mumbled to himself.

His emotions had screwed up the last mission. Tenzou felt like he could really do without a repeat performance.

* * *

"Tenzou-san… do you have it?"

"Yes, they're behind my back."

"Oh, good thinking. We must be discreet. We are handling illegal tender, after all."

"Or… flowers."

Gorro reached around Tenzou's back and grabbed the bouquet. He hid the flowers underneath his blouse and snuck back off into the crowd with a very pleased grin.

Out of an opening in the crowd, Kakashi slipped through and walked towards Tenzou. He sent a curious glance over his shoulder towards Gorro and gave Tenzou a mildly confused look. The way he nose scrunched up might have looked unattractive on anyone else, but Tenzou thought the little wrinkles only enhanced his features. It was strange to think that Kakashi's mask hid these little facial quirks.

Tenzou tilted his head slightly as a blissful sigh escaped his lips.

"What was that?" asked Kakashi.

Tenzou snapped out of blissful bemusement and stood up straighter. "Nothing really. My flower arranging prowess is finally being recognized."

He pointed towards the happy reunion between Gorro and Miyu that was unfolding down the road.

The procession had stopped for a break—the last one before they would finally enter the town of Hana. Tenzou had snuck off behind a cherry blossom tree and whipped something up to appease his first unofficial customer. Luckily, he hadn't messed up his flower meanings and managed to pull off something that pleased Gorro's wife. It was almost too sickeningly sweet of a sight for Tenzou to see, but somehow he had found himself wishing for the happy ending of most every love story recently. With absolutely no relation to his own feelings, of course.

Kakashi chuckled. "So you have a little love shop going on now… that's cute. Don't tell the Hokage, otherwise you might have to pay taxes on your tips."

"No need to make fun of me. We all know you're just jealous because I'm the better 'florist' in this twosome. I can just snap my fingers and  _poof,_ a million pleased women," said Tenzou. He pulled a face that he hoped conveyed all the haughtiness he felt at the moment. It was the first time that he had a clear advantage over the Copy Ninja.

"Is that what you've been telling people?"

"Mmhm. I thought we needed to flesh out our cover stories a little bit more, you know?"

"Mm. That's fine. You can be the ugly guy with talent. I will be the good-looking one that does the least amount of work."

Tenzou's haughty face dropped into a look of incredulity. "I'm not  _ugly._ "

Kakashi shrugged. "Maybe, maybe not."

Before Tenzou could demand to know which 'maybe' Kakashi considered him to be, Kakashi simply walked back into the crowd. Tenzou slapped his forehead in frustration. The talent of waltzing in and out of a conversation was something Kakashi possessed and abused. Conducting a surgical strike on Tenzou's emotions and dipping out before anything else could be said on the subject was still clearly his favorite pastime.

Tenzou sagged against the cart.

But… did Kakashi really think he was ugly?

"Oh, come on!" cried Tenzou.

A passing vendor glared. " _You_ come on, buddy."

* * *

Hana was nothing special.

Tenzou had imagined it to be a sprawling oceanside city due to its rather hefty income. Reality was that it looked remarkably like a standard farming village that he'd seem many times during his travels.

Hana and its buildings were placed in a square cluster by the banks of the Red River. The buildings were made of wood and very traditional in appearance.

It had one main road that split the town in half; it had two large squares to the north and south. Although it was still too far away to clearly make them out, Tenzou could see that they had a statue in each square. The sheep traveling road they were currently on led directly to the south-most square.

Tenzou could see people moving about their daily activities and he gauged that no more than a few hundred people inhabited Hana. Did its people completely rely on the silkworms for their livelihoods? wondered Tenzou. All the farmland lied behind them over the hill and he couldn't see any fishing boats out to sea.

While its host village was nothing special, the Moon Temple itself was fancy in comparison. It was a three-story building with large, ornate columns as its structural support. Its most striking feature was the shining black tiles that lined the roof in an upside-down v-slope. It was several miles away from the village and nestled into a hillside that overlooked the silkworm trees.

There were hundreds of trees that lined the red clay banks, and Tenzou could almost make out the woken silk by the sun's glare. Two large gardens lay out by the trees as well, presumably where he and Kakashi would do most of their work.

"We're going to be staying at the main inn tonight," said Kakashi. "But more people are coming tomorrow, so we'll have to relocate to the Temple. Yi Ling said she talked to the monks and they graciously gave us some comfortable accommodations."

"How thoughtful of her," said Tenzou, trying his best to dig his heels into the dirt road in order to keep control of the cart that was trying its best to hurtle down the steep hill.

"It was," agreed Kakashi. "Perhaps not the best for the mission, though. The festival will take place in the North Square. We'll need to thoroughly scope out all the security flaws. If we're stuck at the Temple, we'll have to walk back and forth every day."

Tenzou didn't see how that was so troublesome. They were ninja and backbreaking physical labor was the nature of the beast (and he was currently breaking his back trying to keep that damn cart from toppling over onto some poor, unsuspecting children).

"Stop… being so… lazy," he grunted out.

Kakashi held a hand up to his ear. "Sorry, didn't catch that."

Tenzou, the cart, and Kakashi finally made it down to level ground safely. Yi Ling was nowhere to be found, as usual.

The South Square was a cobblestoned area that contrasted sharply with the rest of the dirt road that led through the rest of the main street. The statue that he had seen from afar was a giant marble carving of a tree with several giant silkworm clusters hanging from its branches. A large plaque on the pillar bottom read 'Silkworm Square – from adversity comes prosperity'.

Yi Ling met up with them at the inn.

"Where did you leave my cart?" she snapped at Tenzou in greeting.

"It's out back," he replied, shying away from unpleasant demeanor.

Kakashi rubbed the back of his neck. "The innkeeper promised it would be very well protected in the carriage house."

Yi Ling huffed her acceptance of the news. "So be it, I suppose. Well, you two need to get some rest. I'm sure some idiot will come by and invite you two—well, maybe Kakashi-san—out for a welcoming celebration."

"Ah, I forgot to mention that I will be going by 'Yamato' this mission," said Kakashi.

"Yamato?" she repeated with a deep frown. "Hm, yes. 'Kakashi' is a suspicious name to coincidentally have when you have silver-colored hair and one good eye."

"The other one works," said Kakashi mildly.

Yi Ling grunted. "Very well. Turn their invitations down if you have half a brain. Preparations for the festival begin very early tomorrow morning at the Temple and you  _cannot be late._  You will get a break in midday for an hour or two, but you'll have to use this time to come back here and prepare for your true mission…"

Tenzou leaned forward in anticipation.

"… the security detail."

Tenzou leaned back in disappointment.

"I've been informed that the mission commissioner had to leave Hana earlier today on an emergency. He's requested a presence with you two, so kindly keep your noses clean until he returns. The monks will be extremely busy with harvesting the silk. Your side assignment will be to grow the stalk maze and the rest of the garden. You two will need to put forth one hundred percent in doing this."

Kakashi nodded. "No problem."

"I will be staying in town," continued Yi Ling. "Ask around if you need to find me. Life or death situations only, please."

The old woman left without another word and Tenzou took the time to whip out the horticulture book he had borrowed from Yumi. He flipped to the first chapters. Kakashi got up from his cot and looked over Tenzou's shoulder.

"What are you looking for?" he asked.

Tenzou ran his finger over the book's words, reading quickly. "The festival is in three weeks… there is no way we can grow a full garden  _and_ stalks in that time. Right?"

Kakashi shrugged. "They asked for us to start the mission now, not any sooner."

"Do they know I'm coming?" asked Tenzou.

Kakashi fixed him with a look that simply said 'duh'.

"I mean… do they know  _this_ iscoming." Tenzou wiggled his fingers as if about to display great magic. He stared at his hands in mock concentration and grew a red camellia from the tip of his index finger. He presented it to Kakashi with exaggerated flourish.

"Very fancy," said Kakashi dryly. He twirled the flower between his fingers. "Are you trying to tell me something?"

Tenzou raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

Kakashi set the camellia on the nightstand next to his bed. "Don't worry about it. And no, they don't know your magic hands are in town."

"They are quite talented," agreed Tenzou, happily pretending to be blind to the indifference in Kakashi's voice.

Kakashi raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"

Tenzou nodded. "Yup. They can do all kinds of things."

"Interesting. What other kinds of things can your hands do?" asked Kakashi.

Tenzou hadn't noticed the shift in atmosphere until it was almost too late to stop the impending innuendo.

Kakashi was sitting back on his cot, leaned up against the wall, his hands resting on his stomach. A ray of sunlight cut through the window across his body and he almost looked like a lazy cat sunning itself on a bright summer day. If he hadn't been in a conversation with the man, Tenzou could have sworn he was falling asleep. Yet there he was, his one hooded eye watching him with an expression Tenzou wasn't sure he could place. Tenzou swallowed thickly, feeling that unexplainable magnetism trapping him in place. It was almost like being under the spell of the Sharingan.

Sometimes, before Tenzou had realized he might have been just a little bit infatuated with the man, their conversations had taken such turns into double entendres. Yet Kakashi had been yanking his chain all those times—making fun of Tenzou for walking into blatant sexual innuendos and poking at the fact that he had a habit of being quite prudish (especially when Raidou and Genma got into their rather vivid descriptions). Now… the way Kakashi raised his eyebrow... the expression on his face… it was felt completely foreign to Tenzou. As if Kakashi was honestly curious as to what dirty things Tenzou's hands could do. Tenzou wasn't sure if any of it was real. Perhaps he was experiencing a strong bout of wishful thinking. Perhaps Kakashi had acted this way before, was still completely joking, but now Tenzou was reacting to the input differently because his own feelings had been warped.

More importantly, should he answer the question?

Kakashi was still watching, patiently waiting for whatever Tenzou would throw back at him. Tenzou couldn't understand how Kakashi did it, how he managed to keep every single situation from fazing him. Whereas he was positively squirming underneath Kakashi's gaze, Kakashi remained completely impassive under Tenzou's. The greatest array of emotions the man had shown him was the trek back home after their mission with the daimyo.

One part of him wanted to say something suggestive, but the logical part of him couldn't bring himself to breech those lines… not now and perhaps not ever. The courage he had been given by Yumi's encouragement the other day now seemed like insanity and Genma's advice was too far away, tucked away in Konoha. While the rest of his team had agreed that ANBU's fraternization policies were lax, it wasn't a good look to be involved with one's direct superior. Any promotion would be attributed to some sort of sexual favor from then on. This mostly happened to kunoichi, curse to those double standards, but men were not always exempt from this shame.

Mostly, he was too chicken to cross the line and face rejection or more humiliation. The last thing he needed was to open his mouth, offer Kakashi some fangled form of a hand job, completely out his feelings… only to hear that it was all a joke—the same joke they had been playing with one another for months.

A knock on their door broke the spell. Tenzou took a deep breath, thankful for the distraction. He got up to answer the door.

It was Gorro.

"Ah!" said Gorro, peeking his head into the room. "Hello, Yamato-san. Pleasure seeing you again."

Kakashi raised a hand in greeting.

Tenzou wondered idly if it was such a brilliant idea to help Gorro out earlier. What if the apology had gone over so well that he now wanted a daily supply of flowers? Tenzou thought he might really have to start charging for his services if that was the case.

"In gratitude for earlier, please come out with me tonight. A few of us are going to the local watering hole. I owe you at least a drink or two," Gorro said. "Yamato-san is more than welcome to come."

"Oh, I don't think—"

"We'd love to," said Kakashi, effectively cutting off Tenzou's attempts at turning the offer down.

"Really? I'm not sure." Tenzou flashed the hand signal for 'mission' behind his back to kindly remind Kakashi that they had somewhere to be the next day and extremely early in the morning no less. Had he no respect for the wishes of their harpy of a handler?

Was this the real reason Kakashi was constantly tardy?

Kakashi smiled. "We'll meet you in the lobby around… what time?"

Tenzou knew there was no point in arguing further.

* * *

For someone who was constantly late, Kakashi was the one who dragged Tenzou to the inn lobby at eight.

They had both showered and changed into their second set of clothes after Gorro gave them the meeting time. Tenzou had no made no qualms about complaining and bemoaning the fact that they had a mission to accomplish the whole time. Kakashi had endured said complaining and bemoaning in high spirits.

Gorro and his group of friends took them to the only bar in town which, to no one's surprise, was named the Silkworm. The bar was packed corner to corner with patrons and the bartender looked as if he was going to suffer from a complete mental breakdown. Clearly, the Silkworm didn't see much use until half of Fire country came to town for their annual festival. It was a quant little room and reminded Tenzou more of a teahouse than anything else. A loud, wailing instrumental played over the speakers.

Somehow—although Tenzou highly suspected foul play on Kakashi's part—their group managed to snag a tiny booth in the back.

"What would you like to drink?" screamed Gorro over the din of the crowd.

"Two of whatever you're getting," yelled Tenzou in return.

Whatever Gorro purchased was absolutely vile. It tasted like bleach and burned Tenzou's tongue and throat on its way down to destroy his tender stomach. Kakashi, on the other hand, made absolutely no face when he downed his first cup.

The atmosphere in the Silkworm was that of excitement.

The townspeople were intermixed with the festival crowd, talking loudly about the upcoming weeks. In hindsight, Tenzou knew he shouldn't have had anything to drink. A bar would have been the perfect place to begin their security detail work, snoop out the most suspicious and rowdy of the bunch. Even the vilest of hooligans liked to partake in some imbibing. Sadly, Tenzou knew was already too far gone to stop and gather his wits. Tenzou sighed and took another sip from his ceramic cup. It burned much less than before, which he took as not a sign of victory, but as a sign that he was going to have a very harsh day tomorrow.

The pleasant feeling he had experienced for the first time at The Angry Shinobi was beginning to come back—along with other memories associated with said bar. It was the first night he had what a sane person could consider 'too much' fun. He thought of his teammates. What were they up to? He still hadn't begged for Raidou or Hayate's forgiveness, although Tenzou was sure Genma passed his apology on to them. And he never did help Genma fix his floor or buy that new couch.

He chewed on the inside of his cheek and swirled the clear liquid around with his finger, not caring that he was acting downright barbaric. No one paid him any mind, however. Gorro and his friends were huddled together and roaring with laughter. Kakashi had left to get more drinks a while ago.

Tenzou scanned the crowd and caught sight of Kakashi easily. He wasn't alone. A local girl was pressed up against Kakashi's side by the bar. She was talking animatedly, clearly pleased that the most attractive man was in her sights. Much to Tenzou chagrin, Kakashi was looking down at the girl, seemingly listening in to every word. The familiar storm of anger and jealously began to churn inside of Tenzou then and Tenzou knew he needed to stop it before he did something extremely stupid. Again. Tenzou leaned over the table and smacked his forehead into the wood a few times for good measure.

"Ow… ow… ow…"

Unfortunately for Tenzou, the fact of alcohol was that it tended to enhance emotions no matter how many times one smacked his or her head onto tables. Once feeling a certain way, it often took hell and high water to change them. Seeing someone else attracting Kakashi's attention might have irritated Tenzou while sober, but a drunk Tenzou felt the roar of his inner beast coming to life.

Before he knew what he was doing, Tenzou was half way across the bar and wiggling his body in between Kakashi and the girl.

"Um, excuse me?" said the girl. She wore the look of astonishment.

"Shooooo," slurred Tenzou.

His back was fully pressed up against Kakashi's front, as the other man hadn't moved an inch during Tenzou's maneuver. It felt nice, Tenzou decided. He slapped him hand down on the bar, as if attempting to flag the bartender. In Tenzou's head, it was quite the impressive display of assertiveness, but he wobbled underneath the weight of his drunkenness and even he knew the illusion was shattered. It might have been believable act for the girl, as she didn't know him from Kenji, but Kakashi wasn't a complete idiot.

Kakashi grabbed Tenzou around the shoulders and moved him a few respectable inches away. "Excuse my friend. It looks he's had one too many."

"It's… fine," she said. She scrunched her nose up at Tenzou.

"I really should take him home," said Kakashi when the girl didn't automatically turn around and walk away.

She looked disappointed at Kakashi's blatant dismissal. It took all of Tenzou's willpower to not pump his fist.

"Nice meeting you," said Tenzou when she walked off.

The next series of events were a blur, but Tenzou knew he had waved in Gorro's general direction at some point and then he was outside in the quiet main street of Hana.

On some primitive level, Tenzou was extremely pleased by the turn of events. He had jumped in front of Kakashi and had prevented any further action. His diabolical plan had worked perfectly. He looked sideways at Kakashi, but the other man was not paying him any mind. A feeling he recognized as 'disappointment' sunk into his bones.

It had been an uneventful night. And it was still early, which suited Tenzou just fine. The last thing he wanted was to wake up so late tomorrow morning due to an alcohol-induced coma that they would be shucked right back out of the Temple when he and Kakashi finally arrived.

He felt much the same way he had the night Kakashi had fobbed him off to Gai. The pleasant buzz had given way to a rapid spin a long time ago. When would the vomit come? He hugged his sides loosely as laughter began to bubble forth. He couldn't help it. Kakashi shot him a look that conveyed his severe lack of patience.

Tenzou erupted in more laughter. "I… I just c-cock-blocked you…"

"That would insinuate I had intentions of using it, which I did not," replied Kakashi. He made a grab for Tenzou's sleeve when he stumbled forward.

"That's t-too bad," said Tenzou through another fit of giggles. "So you didn't like her?"

"No."

Tenzou pointed to Kakashi face. "You sound annoyed, but you have a little… a little smile. Right there. On your face."

Kakashi's lips indeed were quirked up into a mild smile. "You're too annoying for me to really be annoyed."

"Makes perfect sense. Lemme get a hand…" Tenzou leaned on Kakashi heavily. "So you're not mad?"

Kakashi slung Tenzou's arm over his shoulder. "No. I don't think we would have been a good match."

Tenzou sighed and let his head roll forward. "I didn't mean her. I mean… are you still mad about everything horrible and awful I've done to you?"

"Like when you tried to shrink all my clothes in the wash?"

"You noticed?" asked Tenzou.

Kakashi looked away. "I've been doing my own laundry since I was ten."

Tenzou sputtered. "You took my detergent, softener and  _money_. You're heartless. Don't you have any shame in your game?"

"Of course not. Maybe you should just concentrate on walking for now."

Although it was a backhanded way of telling him to keep quiet, Tenzou stopped walking, which forced Kakashi to halt as well. "I'm serious. Sempai, I really am sorry about punching you. When I saw that waitress in your apartment I… um… and you were just being so  _rude_ about the whole team thing and then you said we weren't friends—"

"Stop talking," said Kakashi. He tugged Tenzou back into a walk. "I'm not mad. I should have noticed you were agitated and backed off."

"And we're friends, right?" asked Tenzou. "Not just teammates?"

Kakashi bristled under the barrage of questions. "I think we established that before."

"Not in a straight 'yes' or 'no'," Tenzou pointed out. "But I will take your non-answer answer as 'yes, Tenzou, we're absolutely friends'."

"Whatever makes you happy."

They walked in silence for another minute. The real question that had been on Tenzou's mind since he had allegedly heard the 'truth' was at the forefront of his mind. He mustered the courage to ask it, which wasn't hard to do, as his inhibitions were at an all time low.

"Then… did you… sleep with her?" Tenzou asked.

"Who?"

"The waitress."

Kakashi sighed and stayed silent for a long moment. Finally, he said, "No."

Tenzou's heart leaped for joy. "Why not?"

"Because I didn't want to," said Kakashi in a tone that suggested that their conversation was now finished.

So Kakashi really hadn't slept with the waitress… what did it mean? Yumi had said it was clear Kakashi was smitten with Tenzou, since he hadn't been interested in the supposedly gorgeous blonde. Tenzou wasn't sure if the answer was that simple, but it sure made him feel better about himself.

"Do you think I'm ugly?" he blurted out. All the filters he normally kept up had been washed away with the alcohol.

Kakashi laughed. "No. You're tolerable."

"I will take that. I guess it's hard for other people to be good-looking in your eyes, since you see yourself every day. Do you look at yourself every day? Anyway, you're really good-looking," Tenzou babbled on. "I mean, I know I said it before when I first saw your face, but you really are good-looking. It kind of bums me out sometimes. Makes me ask 'what happened to me', you know?"

Tenzou nodded sagely. Compared to Kakashi, Tenzou really was an average-looking youth. Brown hair, dark brown eyes, and a face that didn't make you want to take a triple take—but it was also a face that didn't shatter mirrors. He'd never been too concerned with vanity before, but he wondered how people would look at him and Kakashi if they were ever to end up together. Would he be the considered the ugly one? Would people talk behind their backs? Tenzou wasn't sure how gossip went these days.

"How low of an opinion do you have of yourself?" asked Kakashi.

"Pretty low," replied Tenzou.

"You should change that."

Tenzou wasn't sure what to say in reply. All he could do was grip on to Kakashi a little harder than before. He was practically draped over the Copy Ninja now and Tenzou wondered if Kakashi noticed or even cared. The space between them, or lack thereof, was the only thing that registered to Tenzou now. Everywhere he touched Kakashi felt twice as warm and wonderful. He let his head roll onto his shoulder, concentrating on moving his limbs in time with Kakashi's. He inhaled deeply and a scent that he could only define as 'Kakashi' assaulted his senses. He would have gladly stayed next to him like this forever. Well, maybe not forever. Just a nice, long time.

"What?"

Tenzou blinked blearily. "Eh?"

"You're mumbling to yourself and drooling everywhere."

This was the distinct point in the night when Tenzou decided he was hallucinating. Reason being was that Kakashi began to dab Tenzou's face with his blouse sleeve. Under normal circumstances, Tenzou would have knocked the helping hand away, but he was practically being dragged back to the inn anyway and he was lying to himself if he said he didn't enjoy the attention.

"I need to drink more often," Tenzou decided aloud.

"Or not," said Kakashi thoughtfully.

"You're the reason I'm all sloshed. I  _tried_ to make sure we stayed in, but noooo. You drag me out for a night on the town."

Kakashi hauled him past the silkworm statue in the South Square. If Tenzou squinted a certain way, it almost looked like the worms were bobbing up and down on shiny silk strings.

"You could have had one drink like I did," remarked Kakashi as they entered the inn. "Don't you think I would have turned down Gorro's offer if I didn't think it would benefit us somehow?"

"You could have told me this." Tenzou practically whined.

"I'm not your jounin teacher," said Kakashi. "You should know everyone talks too much when they've had something to drink, you having first-hand experience with this. And I have remarkable hearing. Better yet, I managed to get some information out of Naoko."

"Who's Naoko?"

"The shop girl you body slammed out of the way."

"On first name basis already," grumbled Tenzou. "Rude."

"Don't you want to know what I know?" asked Kakashi.

"No."

"That's too bad. It's really good stuff."

Tenzou didn't care.

When they reached their room, Kakashi stepped out from under Tenzou's arm to open the door. Tenzou pushed passed him. He kicked his sandals off and tossed his blouse on to the rickety chair that had a place in the far corner of the room. There wasn't much else to do but brush his teeth, but Tenzou was feeling grimy enough to leave that for the morning. He flopped face first on to his bed.

Of  _course_ Kakashi had ulterior motives. Would it have been so hard to give Tenzou a head's up beforehand? The both of them could have chatted up some shop girls and got double the information… or something. He was curious as to what this Naoko had told Kakashi, but he was too stubborn to ask.

He felt, rather than heard, Kakashi crouch down next to his bed. "You need to drink some water."

Tenzou grunted.

"Be a good little ninja and roll over and sit up."

Tenzou did as instructed without hesitation. Kakashi held a glass of water up to Tenzou's lips and Tenzou drank greedily. He hadn't realized how dehydrated he had become until then. He knew Kakashi was probably waiting for him to take the glass himself, but Kakashi's index finger was touching his bottom lip and Tenzou didn't want the contact to end.

It should have been awkward, but the liquid courage allowed him to lock eyes with Kakashi without even a hint of embarrassment. Kakashi stared back at him with slightly furrowed eyebrows, his one hooded eye fixed on some spot on Tenzou's face.

That unknown tension was building between them again. It felt like they'd been transported back to earlier in the day, when they had exchanged innocent yet loaded innuendos. Tenzou  _knew_ Kakashi had to feel it too. There was so much Tenzou wanted to say, but for all the courage he given to him from the alcohol, it had also cottoned his brain. Plus, he did have a glass of water at his mouth. Drinking and talking didn't go hand in hand very well.

When the water was finished, Tenzou took the glass. That annoying voice he had dubbed as his drunken subconscious told him that there was a way to get around talking while still being able to convey what he wanted.

It wasn't the smart choice and it most certainly wasn't the right choice, but Tenzou tossed his cares to the wind anyway.

He leaned over to press his mouth to Kakashi's.

But where Kakashi had been not a second before, Tenzou met air and promptly fell face first on to the floor instead.


	16. Muscle Memory

The drop to the floor was unexpected, as was the empty space in front of him, and Tenzou barely had enough time in his drunken state to throw his arms out to minimize the impact. It was quite an unfortunate fact of life that being a shinobi didn't counteract the effects of being a supreme lightweight, and Tenzou's delayed reaction had his face smacking painfully against the wooden boards of the inn floor despite his valiant (and sloppy) efforts.

Tenzou pushed himself back into a sitting position and groaned. The throb along his cheekbone was dull, but he knew, like only someone who experienced blows to the face frequently, that it would be bruised in the morning. He closed his eyes against the spin. Where had Kakashi disappeared to?

A few seconds later, he felt a cold, wet towel laid on his cheek. "Is this how you acted in front of Gai? He always talked so highly of you."

Tenzou leaned into Kakashi's hand. "Unlike you, he was a gentleman that night. I like his leggings. Very fashionable."

"I'll pass the message on," said Kakashi. "How much did you have to drink?"

Tenzou shrugged. "That one bottle. I think."

Kakashi sighed much in the same way that Tenzou's old sensei did when he'd been on the cusp of choking his genin pupils. The violence never came, however. Instead, Kakashi began to probe and poke at Tenzou's throbbing cheek without the tenderness Tenzou thought he justly deserved.

If anyone had told Tenzou months ago, when he'd first met Kakashi, that he would allow the man to touch him and take care of him (outside of a life-or-death situation), Tenzou would surely have had an aneurysm and dropped dead from the stress. Now, it just felt natural—even nice.

"You're a sloppy drinker," said Kakashi, after determining that Tenzou's face wasn't going to fall off anytime soon.

"Oh, am I? Didn't realize this."

"You are so sarcastic tonight. It's not a good look for you," replied Kakashi evenly. "I never knew a man who couldn't hold his liquor."

"I'm sorry I'm not an alcoholic like you," snipped Tenzou in reply. "I'm still sixteen, you know. You're a bad influence on me. If I had a mother, she'd keel over if she knew I was getting into this kind of d-debauchery."

Kakashi tweaked Tenzou's nose. "The mothers of Konoha love me."

"Maybe so, but my mine would hate you for sure."

Kakashi helped Tenzou back up onto his bed. "You don't say?"

Tenzou fluffed his pillow and snuggled into it. "Mmhm. You might be able to charm everyone in all of Fire, but you wouldn't be able to fool Mama Tenzou. She'd see right through you and your happy little eye crinkle. I'd come home from just one mission with a teeny-tiny scratch and you'd never be allowed over for dinner again."

"Look at you and that imagination," deadpanned Kakashi.

"It's very vivid, I know. And you'd still bully me despite my fake mother's fantastic home cooking."

Kakashi chuckled and ran his hand through his silver-colored hair. "You'd deserve it, I'm sure."

"The bullying? Never," said Tenzou, nose wrinkling in bemusement. "I'm sure you would have liked me much more in that alternate dimension. I'd have little emotional trauma and no off-putting personality traits, and we'd have met somewhere normal like a market. We would have fought over the last eggplant, but you'd let me have it, and I'd invite you over for dinner or something lame like that, since you were so kind. And... things would go from there."

This alternate dimension Tenzou spun together had him longing for a slice of normalcy he hadn't wished for in a long time. 'Professional shinobi' wasn't the only lot in life in Konoha someone could pursue. Who knew if he would have even entered the Academy, had he not been kidnapped by Orochimaru and made into a test subject? Perhaps he really would have been born to a farming family, grown something simple and plain, where he would eventually sell to the handsome ANBU Captain that came by every week or two.

"Do you even like eggplants?" asked Tenzou.

"Actually, I do," replied Kakashi with a small smile dancing around his lips. "As much as I enjoy hearing about this other Tenzou, the one I like the most is sitting in this room with me."

It was a simple confession and obviously had no further meaning behind it, but it made Tenzou feel warm inside. "Oh stop, sempai."

"It's the truth," confessed Kakashi lightly. "Is it so hard to believe that I might enjoy your company?"

It was another simple confession, but it was enough to turn the cogs in Tenzou's alcohol-laden brain. Never before had Kakashi been so forthright about anything. He was taciturn on his better days and a jerk on his worst—getting anything useful or thought-provoking out of him was like pulling out teeth with pliers. Tenzou knew he'd forged a place in Kakashi's life, somehow, but he never once imagined that Kakashi experienced  _enjoyment_  from this company.

"It is," said Tenzou. He was at a loss at what else to say. "You're hard to read."

"And you're an even harder to get rid of," replied Kakashi, tilting his head slightly. He looked like Pakkun did whenever Tenzou asked for a 'handshake'. "I find it easier to accept that you're going to be in my life than keep fighting against it."

Tenzou was about to come back with a quip of his own, but yawned rather aggressively instead. He rubbed his eyes. Although he enjoyed their faux-malicious banter, they did have a mission objective. "So what did Naoko tell you tonight?"

Kakashi shook his head as if confused. "Hm?"

"Don't pretend like you don't know what I'm talking about."

"You're three sheets to the wind and you want mission info," said Kakashi with a light sigh. "Only you. I won't repeat myself tomorrow."

"Fair enough."

"There used to be another village on the other side of the Red River. They were vying for the Moon Temple's backing, but they clearly chose Hana as their home. This other village eventually packed up and moved on, but there is still bad blood between families around here. Rumor has it that a rather rambunctious fellow from this neighboring village is attempting to sabotage the festival and almost caused a scandal last year—"

"—with those damn fireworks, yes," finished Tenzou. "That's pretty mild."

"I never said it was exciting or original."

Tenzou sniffed. "I guess we need to be on the lookout then."

"Yup. Which means you need to reign in your raging alcoholism."

"Wah-wah," mocked Tenzou. "You really need to lighten up."

"Are you really one to talk? Getting you to leave your apartment and your thousand cats—"

_"One cat, thanks—"_

"—was almost as bad as suturing myself up with a fishhook."

"Okay, rewind. You have  _eight_  dogs. I have  _one_  cat. And I'm the crazy cat guy?"

"We had a vote," replied Kakashi. "And we agreed. Why else would I give you a cat mask? Also, my dogs are summons. They're a hundred times more useful than your cat, have saved my hide a thousand times over, and they can disappear when the apartment gets too crowded."

"You didn't even know I had Bucket until after the daimyo mission," said Tenzou with much indignation. He was  _not_  a crazy, cat-loving lunatic. He and Bucket barely got along half the time.

Kakashi tapped his nose and winked. "The nose never lies."

"I hate you," said Tenzou. "Just thought you should know."

"Don't be a sore loser," cajoled Kakashi. "I'm older than you, and therefore much wiser in the game of wits."

"Maybe, but it's all a defense mechanism," said Tenzou. "The more of a bully you are, the more insecure you are."

"You think I'm insecure," repeated Kakashi.

"No," said Tenzou, finding himself backtracking on his earlier observation. He wasn't sure why, but the look on Kakashi's face was beginning to unsettle him. "You're too confident for your own good, I'd say."

Kakashi said nothing in reply. Tenzou watched his sempai's face carefully, hoping to catch a flash of emotion that might display what, exactly, the infamous Copy-Nin was now thinking. But it seemed that the unguarded moment between them had evaporated and would not be coming back anytime soon.

Was it something he'd said? he thought warily. There was no point in combing through their conversation to see where he might have run afoul. It would take all night.

Tenzou rolled over onto his other side to face the wall.

* * *

Sweat ran down his forehead and Tenzou tried to wipe the perspiration away in vain.

The relatively cool weather Fire country had been blessed with had effectively been blown away by this new heat wave. Being next to the ocean in Hana did nothing to lessen the blazing sun, nor the inferno he was now trapped in. The monks had said this kind of heat was extremely unusual and Tenzou, once again, cursed his bad luck. Tenzou tugged at the collar of his working blouse. He was quickly approaching that pinnacle of desperation that would allow him to toss decency aside and disrobe. There were no females at the Temple to offend and he doubted the monks were body-shy.

Besides, Kakashi had been topless for the better part of the day.

Tenzou's eyes swung over to his counterpart on their own accord. He sighed at his own transparency, but drank in the picture despite the (very miniscule) part of him that still fought tooth and nail against his attraction to his superior. Kakashi had his back turned towards Tenzou and was currently working on digging holes for the support posts. He had a shovel in one hand. His other hand was running through his damp hair. As if he felt Tenzou's lecherous gaze and meant only to tempt it further, Kakashi bent over and picked up the green canteen that lay at his feet and began to pour water over his head. Tenzou watched for as long as he dared and averted his eyes when he'd had his fill. Thankfully, it didn't take too long.

Kakashi and he had been tending to the gardens of the Moon Temple for the past two days. It was uneventful, dirty labor. And he hated it. Tenzou was used to running himself into the ground with hard work, so that wasn't the veritable thorn in his side.

It was Kakashi.

Ever since Tenzou's botched attempt at a kiss (which had landed him and his face on inn floor for his troubles), Kakashi had been acting… different. There was no other way to describe it.

It had taken a better part of the first day for Tenzou to realize what had transpired after their visit to the Silkworm. He'd been absolutely mortified and nearly cut the top of his index finger off with his shears when the memory had returned to him. He'd tried to apologize to Kakashi several times since then, but Kakashi had brushed off every single one of Tenzou's attempts. He acted like nothing had happened. Essentially, theoretically, nothing had. But Tenzou couldn't shake the miserable feeling that clung to him like a leech since that night.

He wasn't giving Tenzou a cold shoulder necessarily and Tenzou thought that that was the worst part. He still talked to Tenzou cordially, when he needed to, but all the progress they'd made as 'friends not teammates' seemed to have vanished like the cool weather.

Tenzou had been put back into that box he'd fought hard to escape from and he didn't like it one bit. He might not have been mentally ready to expound upon his romantic feelings (while sober, in any case), but he still valued Kakashi as a friend. Now that they were hundreds of miles from Konoha, he thought he needed it even more than before.

He didn't want to go back to Konoha without that bond, but he wasn't sure what else to do. He couldn't do much more than explain or apologize, but if Kakashi wasn't having it, then Tenzou was truly stuck-unable to go back in time to slap his drunk self silly, and unable to move forward with his personal troubles.

Kakashi had forgiven him for blowing their first mission together. Kakashi had forgiven him for punching him square in the eye. Kakashi had forgiven him for spying on him at the memorial. The man had forgiven him for damn near every transgression, but he couldn't look passed one night of drunken foolishness. It didn't make much sense, but Tenzou had stopped trying to use logic a long time ago when it came to his captain. Once again, their radio frequencies were not in tune. Perhaps Tenzou had finally bought all the good favors Kakashi had placed on the table? Perhaps this was how the man acted when he was fed up with his subordinates?

There was always the option that he hadn't realize what Tenzou was trying to do, but Tenzou knew that was more wishful thinking. Kakashi had been sober that night, only one drink deep, and his eyesight was actually quite good, and more so in the dark.

Tenzou angrily snipped off the little brown leaves of the bush he was tending.

"Tenzou-san, that verbena did nothing to you. Don't you think you should be more gentle?"

Tenzou shielded his eyes from the relentless sun to better see the monk that now joined him. Tenzou had felt Yadagori's presence lingering behind him for a while now, but he was pretended to be a gardener, not a ninja, and he had to keep up appearances of such no matter what.

"Perhaps," Tenzou agreed with a vague shrug.

"We monks believe that emotions often contribute to the growth of the world around us," the monk said calmly. "If you are dour, your aura is dour, and this translates into unhappy people around you."

"And unhappy flowers."

Yadagori conceded Tenzou's point with a smile and slight nod of his head.

The verbena didn't look more or less upset than it had been before Tenzou had started on it, but Tenzou wasn't about to argue with the man about auras and emotions. He barely understood how his own emotions affected him, having trained for most of his life to compartmentalize them. There was no need to throw flowers in the mix.

"Come," said Yadagori. "I pulled up a bucket of water from the well."

Tenzou stood and followed as ordered. Yadagori was one of the few monks who was not down by the mulberry trees taking care of the silkworms. He'd explained this when Tenzou had stumbled upon him meditating in the L-section of the garden the day before. So far, Tenzou liked the older man well enough. He was compassionate, but stern, and seemed not to mind Tenzou's cynical views on most things.

The well was further into the garden, nearly all the way in the back. Tenzou assumed it had been the centerpiece of the garden once, before the koi pond fountain on the eastern side had been built. The well was in a clearing that was surrounded by three high walls that had ivy crawling up them. A few low stone benches were placed strategically around the clearing, most likely for those who liked to come and contemplate the meaning of life while also enjoying a cool drink.

Yadagori handed Tenzou a wooden cup filled to the brim with water. "It's said this well was built two hundred years ago when Hana was first established."

"Is it safe to drink?" asked Tenzou, second-guessing his thirst.

Yadagori chuckled. "I've been drinking from this well since I was a little boy and here I am, as healthy and strong as an ox. Perhaps your city boy stomach won't be able to handle it?"

He didn't have a choice to drink the well water after that, so Tenzou put the cup to his lips and drank. Despite his earlier worries of tapeworms and the like, the water was delicious and untainted. "Not bad," he said.

"It's our aura," said Yadagori with a wink. "Forgive me for prying, Tenzou-san. I realize you came here to work our gardens, not to receive spiritual advice, but I've sensed that you have been troubled since coming to the Temple. Is there anything we can do to make you more comfortable?"

Tenzou flushed as the familiar feeling of embarrassment washed over him. "It's not the Temple, Yadagori-san, nor any of the monks. I am extremely grateful for your gracious accommodations and the opportunity for work."

"Then?" prompted the monk.

Tenzou opened his mouth, then clinked it shut, unable to explain any further. How could he tell a monk that he was infatuated with his mission partner, who he had attempted to make a drunken move on, who was now keeping him at a distance, and that was the real reason for his 'dour' aura? It was a mouthful.

Yadagori smiled and hung the well bucket back on its hook. "It's no matter. My interrogating skills have never been up to snuff. Forgive me for prying, but is Yamato-san the cause of your worries?"

Tenzou leaned his hip against the well and crossed his arms. He didn't feel comfortable about blatantly lying to a religious man, ninja or not, so he decided to take the middle road. "Something like that."

"You two make quite a pair," remarked Yadagori with a mild shake of his bald head.

Tenzou blanched. "Eh?"

"Yes, quite the pair. Both of you are skirting around one another like cocks ready to fight. When you are looking away, Yamato-san is looking at you. When he is looking away, you are looking at him."

Tenzou remained silent, but not for lack of things to say. Yadagori barely knew them, but he was perceptive enough to see how Tenzou and Kakashi acted around one another.

"When one person is looking to the left without any care to the rest of his surroundings, everything that transpires to the right is not perceived," continued Yadagori. "You should try turning your head some, find out what you see."

* * *

After Yadagori had left the clearing, Tenzou resumed his work.

By the position of the sun, he knew his midday break was coming up soon.

The respite he'd taken had made all the difference. Tenzou had managed to get the remaining verbena plots cleared out and spruced up in record time. He was planning on starting the primrose after he returned from his lunchbreak-cum-recon session.

Tenzou was nothing if not a quick learner and gardening wasn't half bad now that he got the hang of it. It was methodical work that was right up his alley. He didn't even have to resort to using chakra and his innate abilities to get the job done correctly. He sniffed as he thought of Yi Ling and her sourpuss attitude—when the festival truly kicked off, he would thrust a huge bouquet of orange lilies under her nose.

He had learned from Kigiku, the monk gardener, the first day of working at the Temple that they managed to speed up the cycle of the vegetation with a special rod that was infused with energy. Kigiku did not expand on what kind of energy lay in these rods, but was quite adamant that he and Kakashi wear a special pair of leather gloves when handling them.

Tenzou dug a small hole in the middle of the verbena patch and thrust the rod into the ground. It was a thick gray pole, approximately two inches in diameter, which they stuck into the ground in three feet intervals. The special energy it contained was said to infuse into the roots of the plants, cutting its blooming cycle by more than half. It was something of a secret in Hana and Kigiku was quite unhappy that he had to sell his secret to a new set of gardeners.

Luckily for him, neither Tenzou nor Kakashi were going to take his special gardening trick back home with them. Tenzou had even made a silent promise that he wouldn't even mention it to the Yamanakas.

He dusted his hands off onto his trousers and shrugged out of his top. He copied Kakashi's action from earlier by pouring a canteen-full of water over his head. He shivered as the cold water hit his skin, relishing every moment. The sun was only getting hotter and the cool wellwater felt absolutely amazing. He opened his eyes to find a stoic Kakashi watching him from a few feet away.

"You ready to go?" Kakashi asked.

Tenzou nodded his head. "Yup."

Kakashi picked Tenzou's top up from the ground and held it out to him. Tenzou took it without any thanks and lead the way out of the gardens towards the dusty road that would lead them back to the village.

"You should put that on," said Kakashi once they were halfway to Hana. He pointed towards the gray blouse that Tenzou had folded over his arm.

"I'm still a little wet from earlier," replied Tenzou. He didn't even care about bad that sounded. "Are you offended?"

Kakashi cleared his throat. "No."

Tenzou sighed, knowing full well that he was pressing his luck by trying to fall back into their normal pattern of bickering, and shrugged back into his top without a word more.

"You did a good job with the verbena," said Kakashi suddenly. It sounded like an apology, not a compliment.

Tenzou wanted to roll his eyes, but settled for a quiet reply instead. "It comes naturally."

Tenzou hated this awkwardness between them and he hated his drunken subconscious even more for causing it. If only he had kept his wits about him, if only he had the foresight to keep his imbibing to a one drink (or no drink) minimum, he would never have found himself back in this awkward predicament. Three weeks of bunking with someone who clearly wanted to be miles and miles away from him was not what Tenzou considered a good time. What made it worse was this desire for distance wasn't because Kakashi hated him—it was because he was repulsed. It was the only explanation.

The logical side of him argued to err on the side of letting the incident bury itself naturally. Eventually, whatever issues that lingered between them would blow over and they would be as right as rain.

"Sempai," Tenzou started. "About the other night…"

Kakashi stiffened and the emotion that flitted across his maskless face betrayed his attempt at stoicism. He was acting as if he was waiting for Tenzou to strike a blow. It only made Tenzou's theory of repulsion more solid, but he knew he had to steamroll past the moment and attempt to repair what he'd broken.

"I'm sorry for whatever I said or did to offend you," he said.

Kakashi sighed. "I think we need to talk."

Kakashi stopped walking, but Tenzou kept down the dusty path towards Hana. It was childish and immature to pretend like he hadn't heard Kakashi stop, but he knew the moment of honesty was right around the corner. Everything in his soul—including his literal bodily reaction, with the sweaty palms and increased heart rate and perspiration—told him that he needed to be as far away from that corner as possible. He'd attempted the route of avoidance once before and he had nearly ruined their relationship. But what more could be said that didn't completely drive a stake into whatever was left of Tenzou's pride?

Kakashi asked him to halt, but Tenzou couldn't bring himself to stop.

"Don't do this," called out Kakashi. "Don't walk away."

Tenzou's next step faltered. Despite wanting to book it down the dusty road as fast as possible, deep down he couldn't deny Kakashi his request. Tenzou took two more steps before coming to a tense stop. Even still, he kept his back turned towards his object of ultimate frustration.

"Turn around and face me," said Kakashi. It wasn't a request. It was a demand.

Tenzou had been at odds with Kakashi more than he could count on all his fingers and toes, but he'd never felt threatened by him. But right now, with his back exposed and Kakashi's low, clipped tone reverberating through his mind, threatened was the only way to describe the prickling sensation at the base of his neck.

Tenzou exhaled slowly and pivoted on his heel.

Before he could fully comprehend the movement, Kakashi was on him. Hands, elbows and knees lashed out in a blurred fury and Tenzou blocked the onslaught as best as he could, looking for an opening to start his counterattack.

_There!_

His fingers encircled Kakashi's wrist and he used the momentum to bring the other man off balance, jabbing two fingers into a pressure point under the armpit.

Their impromptu sparring match lasted only a minute or two, and ended when Tenzou knocked Kakashi onto his ass with a well-placed kick to the chest. The both of them were panting hard—more due to the extreme midday heat than actual physical exertion. Tenzou blinked down at his sempai, who was squinting back up at him strangely.

It was in the middle of the day, on a well-traveled road to the temple, and anyone with a pair of eyes looking in their direction would have seen them fighting. It was an extremely reckless thing they did, but the look they shared said it all: it was exactly what the both of them had needed. Actions did speak louder than words, after all.

Tenzou held out his hand and Kakashi reached up.

As soon as Kakashi's hand touched his, Tenzou knew his sympathy had been a mistake. Kakashi tugged down, hard, and Tenzou buckled underneath his surprise and Kakashi's strength. They tussled on the ground for a second, but Kakashi had the clear upperhand with grappling this time.

Kakashi rolled until he was on top, his expression eerily blank as he gazed down at Tenzou. He pinned Tenzou's arms down with his knees, but there was hardly enough weight behind it to really keep Tenzou from throwing him off he so desired. It was this fact that kept Tenzou from doing just so.

"Sempai?" asked Tenzou tentatively.

"You really think I just tolerate you," said Kakashi quietly.

Tenzou attempted to shrug, unsure of how to respond.

"In reality, I admire you," continued Kakashi. "We're teammates, and we are equals. Don't forget that."

Tenzou exhaled sharply, staring in wide-eyed bewilderment as Kakashi leaned in close. Either he really wanted to get a close-up view or—or what? Tenzou's adrenaline spiked, and his heart began to hammer in his chest so hard it was a miracle he didn't die from cardiac arrest on the spot. Is this really happening? he screamed inwardly.

Oh my god, he thought desperately. Oh my god!

When Kakashi's lips pressed against his, Tenzou trepidation vanished and the screaming inner voice was silenced immediately. He closed his eyes and reveled in the simple sensation. It was... it was  _bliss_.

Tenzou had kissed a girl or two, but he'd never been kissed, and it had never, ever felt like this. A flash of heat burned from his toes up to the tips of ears, then back down to settle in his groin. Tenzou was instantly hard; his member strained against the thin material of his trousers. It would be asking too much to think that Kakashi didn't feel it, and it was asking too much for him to feel embarrassed over his very obvious desire. Tenzou tilted his hips up on instinct, a sharp thrill running down his spine as Kakashi reciprocated the motion, and Tenzou couldn't hold back the animalistic groan that tore from his throat.

Kakashi wound his hands borderline roughly into Tenzou's hair then, pulling his kouhai closer than before. The kiss deepened, both parties willing and eager, and before Tenzou knew what he was doing, his arms were free and his hands were tugging at the damp hair at Kakashi's nape.

Kakashi pulled away suddenly and rolled into a low crouch. Tenzou stayed on his back for a moment, reeling from the sensory deprivation, then rolled onto his knees to join his team captain—their tryst temporarily forgotten.

Kakashi tapped his index finger to his own lips, then pointed off into the distance. Tenzou squinted. A small cart was creeping along the horizon towards them, swaying slowly which each step of the mule that was pulling it along. Tenzou couldn't make out the driver, nor the contents of the cart. There was no outright reason to be wary—the monks did do business with merchants, and frequently so—but there was something he couldn't put his finger on that had Tenzou raising his defenses up a notch. He turned towards Kakashi for further guidance.

"Continue on as normal," said Kakashi after a moment.

Tenzou nodded.

They both stood, acting as if they were tired travelers coming from the temple who'd simply stopped along the road for a respite, which was more or less the truth.

It didn't take long for the shinobi pair to get close enough to make out their new "friend", and Tenzou thought his stomach was going to bottom out as soon as he caught sight of the traveler's face. He felt his face rapidly drain of color. The image might have been comical under different circumstances, but not these ones.

There was no denying that they'd seen that face before.

Because there, holding the reins of the rickety old cart, was the daimyo whose head Tenzou had sliced clean off months ago.

Kakashi looked at Tenzou, his jaw set, his expression equally grave. "Do you believe in ghosts?"


End file.
